Defense Department, firms reach Wi-Fi pact
Tech companies and the Department of Defense announced a compromise Friday on the future of wireless networking, addressing military concerns about radar interference in the 5 GHz band. The two sides said Friday that they had reached a resolution that establishes a new radio frequency threshold for products using unlicensed radio spectrum — primarily Wi-Fi products.
The Department of Defense worried that the cumulative effect of Wi-Fi products could interfere with the military’s use of radar because the regions of the spectrum in which Wi-Fi and radar operate overlap. The new resolution encourages the use of the 5GHz band in the United States and internationally. The use of this band is likely to be a significant topic at the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference in June in Geneva.