In one of the quiet announcements that might eventually be a huge deal, the FCC voted to open the entire 6 GHz WiFi frequency band to very low-power devices (VLP – just in case you needed another new acronym to remember). The FCC had previously opened up 850 MHz of the spectrum to low-power devices last year, and this new order opens the remaining 350 MHz. This is a huge amount of bandwidth capacity across 1,200 MHz of spectrum.

I think was a momentous decision because this unleashes device makers to design devices that can take advantage of huge data transfer rates. Perhaps the best way to think of this is that the FCC just approved a superfast Bluetooth. In the U.S., Bluetooth operates at speeds between 1 Mbps and 24 Mbps.  Bluetooth works great in a lot of low-bandwidth application such as communicating with headphones to listen to music. The new FCC order means that these same connections can be made at gigabit and faster speeds.

This amount of bandwidth is going to eventually mean a lot of device and application innovation. The most obvious beneficiary of this amount of bandwidth are wearable devices like smart glasses and virtual reality headsets. The real excitement comes from the potential for a lot of new devices and applications that nobody is thinking about today.

This new bandwidth moves one step closer to full, immersive 3D holograms, which might require 10 gigabits of bandwidth. There were devices at the 2024 CES show that used techniques to create 2D holograms that give the viewer the impression of being in a 3D hologram. The more bandwidth available, the better the emulation technology can work.

Like Bluetooth, 6 GHz spectrum can be used anywhere, indoors or outdoors, and does not require a connection to the Internet to work. Imagine a virtual reality game box that stores the data for a game that could be played anywhere. I’m picturing augmented reality gaming in fields and woods, freed from the restraints of a broadband connection.

Of course, most connections will be to the Internet, and use of superfast virtual reality headsets will likely result in more demand to reach into the cloud during gaming or other applications. None of this will likely be immediate, but device makers are now free to design new applications.

There are some restrictions placed on the use of low-power devices. Any device using the technology must use a transmit power control mechanism and a contention-based protocol that requires listening to a channel before using it.

Carriers voiced some concerns that unlimited use of devices could interfere with commercial uses of the 6 GHz spectrum. It’s not hard to imagine a scenario where enough devices could overwhelm a local 6 GHz network. I’m picturing Comicon where hundreds of people with 6 GHz wearables might kill an indoor 6 GHz WiFi network offered by a hotel. The FCC obviously thinks that risk is small.