The FCC is about to let a new breed of 6 GHz Wi-Fi gadgets shout louder than the ones you can buy today.
The regulator has scheduled a vote for its 29 January 2026 open meeting on an order “to create a new category of unlicensed devices that can operate outdoors and at higher power than previously authorised devices.”
These “geofenced variable power” devices, shortened to GVP, are meant to deliver high data rates for AR and VR, short-range hotspots, automation and indoor navigation, while roaming outdoors without wrecking everything else. The price of admission is geofencing that keeps them out of exclusion zones to protect fixed microwave links and radio astronomy observatories.
FCC chairman Brendan Carr put out a release with the shamefully sycophantic title “President Trump Unleashes American Innovation With 6 GHz Win.” We doubt that Trump knows what 6 GHz is, but he would still like the headline because it includes his name and implies he invented it.
Carr said that the FCC “will vote on an order that expands unlicensed operations in the 6 GHz band so that consumers can benefit from better, faster Wi-Fi and an entirely new generation of wireless devices—from AR/VR and IoT to a range of innovative smart devices. It will do so through a set of forward-looking regulations that allow devices to operate at higher power while protecting incumbent users, including through geofencing systems.”
The FCC press release described the new class of devices, including geofenced variable-power (GVP) devices, which promise to overcome the technical and regulatory constraints of other low-power devices, such as low-power indoor (LPI) and very low-power (VLP) devices. GVP devices offer data rates suitable for reality/virtual reality, short-range hotspots, automation processes, and indoor location and navigation because they operate at significantly higher power than VLP devices. At the same time, GVP devices need not be restricted to indoors, unlike LPI. These benefits will be made possible by restricting GVP devices from operating in exclusion zones on certain frequencies to protect incumbent licensed services from any significant risk of harmful interference.
Under the plan, GVP power limits will be “up to 11 dBm/MHz PSD and 24 dBm EIRP,” and the FCC wants comments on letting some indoor-only kit run hotter in specific cases. It is also floating LPI access points on cruise ships, because nothing says “innovation” like arguing about Wi-Fi next to the buffet.
