This blog is authored by Dobias Ingen, EMEA CTO and Vice President of System Engineering at HPE Aruba Networking, and Detlef Fuehrer, Distinguished Technologist and Director of Spectrum Management and Regulatory Affairs for EMEA, HPE.
The figure below provides an historical overview of Wi-Fi spectrum allocation in Europe:
The additional 480/500 MHz made available for Wi-Fi in the 5925/5945-6425 MHz band (the “lower 6 GHz band”) have proven to be very valuable for driving innovation and usage models. By now, all 27 European Union Member States and most of the 19 non-EU members of the European regulation organization, known as the CEPT (European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations) authorize the use of Wi-Fi in the lower 6 GHz band under a uniform or “harmonized” European spectrum regulation.
Below is an overview of all the CEPT countries:
What are use cases for Wi-Fi 6E/7?
So many different devices and services are using the Wi-Fi network that this new allocated spectrum is really needed to meet the new requirements and use models. There is a wide variety of use cases like:
- High density environments need more channels in order to provide new services
- Airports, stadiums, buildings, event locations, universities
- City networks need to provide new demanding services after making the shift towards 5 GHz.
- Virtual/augmented reality (VR/AR)
- Future IoT services
What is Wi-Fi 7 and how is it different from Wi-Fi 6E?
While Wi-Fi 6E was transformational, being the first generation of Wi-Fi to provide access to the 6 GHz band for faster speeds and wider channels, Wi-Fi 7 introduces several incremental improvements, in particular:
- 320 MHz wide channels: These channels consist of any two adjacent 160 MHz channels and exist in the 6 GHz band only.
- 4K QAM: 20% higher transmission rates than Wi-Fi 6/6E’s 1024-QAM, enabling higher transmission efficiency.
- Multi-Link Operation (MLO): Enables devices to combine different channels across frequency bands together, allowing concurrent transmission and reception of data over multiple links.
A comprehensive comparison of Wi-Fi 6/6E and Wi-Fi 7 features is shown in the table below.
Does Europe have its own standards for Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7?
Here, we have to distinguish between standards and regulations. Regulations define the technical conditions products have to fulfill to be allowed to operate in a certain band. The standard ensures that products put on the European market comply with these regulations.
In Europe, both regulations and standards are technology-neutral, meaning that manufacturers can use any technology in their products as long as the rules are followed. Europe has its own standard for wireless broadband systems operating in the 5945-6425 MHz band (ETSI EN 303 687), which was published in June 2023. An update of the standard which addresses the use of 320 MHz-wide channels (as supported by Wi-Fi 7) is currently in the works.
Europe also has its own regulation, which is different from that in the United States, mainly with respect to the amount of spectrum that has been assigned and the transmit power levels. The US has opened up the full 1200 MHz spectrum (5925-7125 MHz) for unlicensed systems. In Europe (so far), only the lower 480 MHz (500 MHz in the UK) has been opened up. See figure below:
The above figure shows that in Europe, the band 5945-6425 MHz was allocated for Wi-Fi which provides a considerable amount of additional spectrum to use. However, to harmonize regulations globally and benefit from economies of scale and to accommodate future capacity needs, the networking industry (including HPE) is working with regulators in Europe to open up the 6425-7125 MHz band, as well.
Within Europe, the UK deviates slightly from the European agreement. The UK allows slightly higher transmit power (e.i.r.p.) and power spectral density and have a little more spectrum to use (5925 – 6425 MHz). The following figure provides an overview:
Are there any restrictions to protect the incumbent users?
There is no restriction like you have with Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) in the 5 GHz band. Within the European 6 GHz regulation, two device classes are defined:
Low Power Indoor (LPI)
- Max. transmission power is 200mW/23dBm EIRP
- Max. power spectral density (PSD) is 10 dBm/MHz
- Devices may only be used within a building, onboard an aircraft or in any other enclosed space with attenuation characteristics at least as strong as those of either a building or an aircraft.
- Operation in road vehicles is not permitted.
- AP must be powered via cable (AC/DC or PoE), battery is not allowed.
- Client device is allowed to be battery powered.
- AP must have integral antennas (no connectors).
Very Low Power (VLP)
- Max transmission power is 25mW/14dBm EIRP
- Max. power spectral density (PSD) is 1 dBm/MHz
- Device can be used indoors and outdoors.
- No fixed installations (focused on mobile/portable, more targeted toward AR/VR types of devices).
In the UK the requirements for the two device classes are different:
Low Power Indoor (LPI)
- Max transmission power is 250mW/24dBm EIRP
- Max. power spectral density (PSD) is 12.6 dBm/MHz
- Devices may only be used within a building, onboard an aircraft or in any other enclosed space with attenuation characteristics at least as strong as those of either a building or an aircraft.
Very Low Power (VLP)
- Device can be used indoors and outdoors.
- Indoor: Max transmission power is 250mW/24dBm EIRP
- Outdoor: Max transmission power is 25mW/14dBm EIRP
- Max. power spectral density (PSD) is 12.6 dBm/MHz
- Restriction to mobile/portable only use is not explicitly stated.
See figure below for summary overview:
What is the status of 6 GHz-enabled devices?
There is a large and fast-growing ecosystem of products, APs as well as client devices that support Wi-Fi 6E, and increasingly Wi-Fi 7, and all major chipset manufacturers offer products supporting 6 GHz Wi-Fi. While access points/routers and smartphone account for the majority of certified 6 GHz-Wi-Fi products, there are many other types of equipment featuring 6 GHz Wi-Fi.
In January 2024, the Wi-Fi Alliance launched their certification program for Wi-Fi 7 and maintains a list of Wi-Fi 7-certified products. This means that Wi-Fi 7 is now ready for mass market adoption. Certification of Wi-Fi 6E products started back in January 2021.
What about 6 GHz Standard Power, AFC, and outdoor Wi-Fi in Europe?
The European regulatory body, the CEPT, is currently working on defining the conditions for authorizing the use of indoor and outdoor Standard Power Wi-Fi in combination with a spectrum access system (SAS) comparable to the Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) system used in North America. Given the current timeline, a respective regulation could enter into force in 2026.
How does HPE Aruba Networking work with regulatory and standard bodies?
It’s important that Wi-Fi is allowed to use this additional spectrum. HPE Aruba Networking is involved with other leading companies in the Wi-Fi industry and all the relevant regulatory and standardization organizations across the world. This enables research and innovations on new regulations and standards to support the Wi-Fi industry and secure future market opportunities.
What are the next steps for HPE Aruba Networking regarding spectrum in Europe?
First of all, it’s great that we can use the additional 480/500 MHz of spectrum in Europe. But it’s important that in Europe we also get access to the additional 700 MHz to fully leverage the entire 1200 MHz band (like the US, Canada, South Korea, etc.). To achieve this, we and our industry partners keep working with regulatory bodies to get approval for additional spectrum.
When can we expect to have the full 6 GHz band (5945-7125 MHz) available for Wi-Fi in Europe?
As of June 2024, the European regulatory body for radiocommunications (CEPT) has two ongoing working items (WI) concerning the possible authorization of Wi-Fi operation in the upper 6 GHz band (6425-7125 MHz). The first WI is to determine the technical conditions under which Wi-Fi can share the band with existing users (fixed microwave links, fixed satellite services, radio astronomy services). The second WI is to determine whether and under which conditions Wi-Fi and mobile networks (5G) could both use the upper 6 GHz band. In parallel, the European Commission is preparing a mandate to CEPT to study options for the future use of the upper 6 GHz band. CEPT is expected to finalize its studies in 2025. A respective harmonized regulation for Europe is likely to enter into force not before late 2026 to mid-2027. As, however, national spectrum policy still is under the control of the individual states, any European state could decide to move forward and exploit the existing 6 GHz Wi-Fi ecosystem in order to gain a competitive advantage.
What does it mean for my organization today?
Many enterprises are upgrading their Wi-Fi infrastructure today to take advantage of existing capabilities within Wi-Fi 6/6E/7. Features such as OFDMA and MU-MIMO provide greater multi-user efficiencies, Target Wake Time improves battery life for IoT devices, and WPA3 and Enhanced Open strengthen Wi-Fi security. These capabilities are available today and can be used with a wide range of Wi-Fi 6/6E/7 devices.
As a best practice, companies in the EU will also plan for the future with Wi-Fi 6E/7 and beyond to take advantage of the additional spectrum as more and more Wi-Fi 6E/7-enabled devices become available. We at HPE Aruba Networking will continue to innovate, develop, and advocate for products that support 6 GHz Wi-Fi for Europe and for the global market.
[1] “Reserved” as far as Wi-Fi is concerned. There are incumbent users of this band such as fixed microwave links (FS) and fixed satellite services (FSS) which coexist with Wi-Fi.
