CompleteCoverage: CES 2013
FCC chairman Julius Genachowski said Wednesday at the
Consumer Electronics Association convention that the FCC is launching a
government-wide effort to boost high-capacity Wi-Fi to allow for multiple HD
video streams from major "hubs" like convention centers, airports and
homes.
That announcement came in an FCC release saying the chairman
was announcing it while speaking at CES. It may not be coming too soon.
Ironically, a promised video stream from the convention center of that
announcement was not accessible online at presstime.
"We all know the frustration of Wi-Fi congestion at
conferences and airports. Today, the FCC is moving to bring increased
speed and capacity to Wi-Fi networks by increasing the amount of unlicensed
spectrum for Wi-Fi," the chairman said, according to the FCC. "As
this spectrum comes on line, we expect it to relieve congested Wi-Fi networks
at major hubs like convention centers and airports. It will also help in homes
as tablets and smartphones proliferate and video use rises."
The FCC next month plans to free up as much as 195 MHz of
spectrum in the 5 GHz band for Wi-Fi.
