The Wi-Fi Alliance previously filed a petition for rulemaking with the Federal Communications Commission seeking allocation of a similar amount of spectrum on January 16, 2002. In addition, the global allocation of spectrum in the 5 GHz band for radio-based local area networks, such as IEEE 802.11a devices, will be under consideration at the upcoming World Radio Conference in 2003.
The Jumpstart Broadband Act will have a far-reaching and positive impact on the ability of Wi-Fi devices to benefit the American public, said Dennis Eaton, Chairman of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Mr. Eaton further observed that this legislation proactively ensures that sufficient spectrum resources for wireless network systems will be available to accommodate the full complement of multimedia applications for both enterprises and consumers, and provides the opportunity for the United States to align its allocations with global trends, thereby providing substantial economies of scope and scale to the public. In conclusion, Mr. Eaton emphasized that, like the sponsors of the legislation, the Wi-Fi Alliance recognizes the critical importance of the incumbent Department of Defense systems already operating in the band, and the Wi-Fi Alliance looks forward to working with the NTIA and Department of Defense to ensure that sharing of the band does not harmfully impact their capabilities.
About the Wi-Fi Alliance
The Wi-Fi Alliance (formerly WECA) is a nonprofit organization formed in 1999 to certify interoperability of IEEE 802.11 products and to promote them as the global, wireless LAN standard across all market segments.
Membership in the Wi-Fi Alliance is open to all companies that support the 802.11 family of standards. The Wi-Fi Alliance now comprises over 200 members from the worlds leading companies. These companies offer over 600 Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ products. For more information, please visit www.wi-fi.org.
