Everyone hates seeing those dreaded buffering messages when they are watching movies on Netflix or waiting for hours just to complete downloading a 10mb song. Well, here is good news! Ofcom has a plan to offer more 5GHz spectrum available for Wi-Fi users in the UK. Ofcom claims that this additional airwave offering will allow for a quicker and more reliable internet connection for the estimated six million homes and offices.
Currently, most Wi-Fi users are offered the 2.4GHz band which is now gradually becoming more connected every day as more devices are being connected to the same spectrum. This scenario tends to slow down data transmission such as cloud and video streaming.
Modern routers are equipped to support the 5GHz band which has more spectrums and faster data transmissions. Ofcom wants to increase the number of 80MHz channels available from four to six by opening up more frequencies within that band.
Philip Marnick, group director of spectrum at Ofcom said "People are placing greater demands on their broadband, so we need to ensure they aren't let down by their wireless connection. We also want to close the gap between advertised speeds and the wireless performance that people and businesses actually receive. So we’re exploring ways to open up more airwaves for Wi-Fi."
Additionally, Ofcom claims that many consumers already have the 5GHz router which not only supports the 2.4GHz, but also the newer and faster 5GHz band. It's now time we started making use of our routers to their full capacity.
The 5GHz spectrum band is widely adopted in the US already which makes it easier for hardware manufacturers to update their products on schedule. Ofcom thinks this may take up to 5 years before Brits completely adopt this new development.
Marnick also added that his team is working to fill the gap between the advertised internet speed and actual data connection performance that people and businesses receive from ISPs. He added that while they are still working on this, people can check their router to see if it's up-to-date and can support the 5GHz band through the Ofcom Wi-Fi checker app.
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