The RSGB has published its response to the Ofcom statement on increasing the amount of the 5 GHz band that can be used for WiFi. The Amateur Satellite Service has a Space-to-Earth allocation at 5830-5850 MHz.
Annex 6 of the Ofcom 5 GHz statement says regarding Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) operation in 5725-5850 MHz:
“…once it becomes clear that this band will become used for Wi-Fi worldwide it will become less attractive for new satellites.”
“In Table 2 below we show the impact that different regulatory regimes for Wi-Fi might have on the exceedance of the protection criteria of the most sensitive satellites in 5.8 GHz assuming a comprehensive Wi-Fi roll-out across Europe and Africa.”
“As discussed previously, the risk of interference is an aggregate of all Wi-Fi use and so will rise slowly over a number of years rather than appearing suddenly.”
“The UK cannot cause interference to 5.8 GHz satellites on its own but it is fairly likely that Europe and Africa will follow our lead. This is likely to be driven by the potential for 5.8 GHz to become a worldwide Wi-Fi band.”
Response of RSGB to the Ofcom 5 GHz Statement
http://rsgb.org/main/files/2016/08/170411_RSGB_5GHz-WT-Regs-2017.pdf
http://rsgb.org/main/blog/spectrum-forum-posts-overview/spectrum-forum-papers-consultations/2016/08/01/5ghz-wi-fi/
Ofcom 5 GHz consultation and statement page
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-1/5-GHz-Wi-Fi
Direct link to Ofcom statement PDF
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0032/98159/5p8-Regs.pdf
