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Timms frees 802.11a wireless broadband free - opens door to Nokia

Not only 802.11a, but a new 58 GHz waveband is decreed "licence free" in new moves to make broadband available to people "on the move" which were announced by E-Commerce Minister Stephen Timms today.

The possibility of seeing Nokia move into the UK's broadband wireless was opened up by the freeing of the new spectrum; it sells a product into America, called MetroHopper. This is now installable, without licensing, in the UK.

The official announcement says: "Rules are to be changed that will allow broadband networks to be accessed in new, public venues like hotels, airports, cafes and schools, through "wireless hotspots". Laptop users will be able to get fast internet access and high data rate services, including real time video."

But there was a surprise. The announcement was expected to cover only the "forgotten" wireless LAN technology - the 802.11a standard, dubbed "WiFi 5" by the Wireless organisation which promotes it. Instead, the changes go further, and open up a new area of spectrum, at 58 GHz.

The new changes to regulations mean that telecoms operators can offer commercial broadband services through public networks without the need for a Wireless Telegraphy Act licence. Confusingly, for the next few months, the official line is that you will still be required to obtain a Telecommunications Act licence.

This is, say executives at the DTI, "purely a formality" and one which will vanish when the new communications bill comes online around June, when Offcom takes over (in practice, around August). It is not the same licence that experimental operators used to need with 802.11a networks, and which is now void, too. "Technically, I suppose you do need it to operate any sort of public access point. In reality, the number of prosecutions for not having one has been zero, and will continue to be so," said a spokesman.

The deregulation will allow commercial network operators and other public and private users, from schools to hotels, to set up Radio Local Area Networks (RLANs)- what everybody else in the "real world" calls WLANS or Wireless LANs - to operate in parts of the 5 GHz radio spectrum.

The catch is that this isn't the complete spectrum in which 802.11a operates. The deregulation covers channels and B, and there is a recommendation to free up Channel C as well - but "further consultations" will be needed. There are still some people - including the BBC's Outside Broadcast units - who use that part of the spectrum, and they will need to be consulted.

The current changes will come into effect on 12 February 2003. A similar deregulation of the radio spectrum at 2.4 GHz was made in June 2002, when the Radiocommunications Agency announced the deregulation of 2.4 GHz in June 2002, making it licence-exempt. A copy of the news release is available.

Government minister Stephen Timms said: "Broadband is surging ahead in the UK, and this initiative will make it more widely available. We need to keep the momentum going and encourage greater use. Opening up this radio spectrum will encourage telecoms operators to deliver new and innovative public services. It will offer the possibility of 'broadband on the go', with services based in public places."