Categories
regulation

The safety of Wi-Fi in Europe

In 2015 the European Commission has published a scientific opinion on the health impact of electromagnetic field exposure, via it’s Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER).

The Opinion was first published in 2009 and updated in 2015 in the final official version. It is an analysis of existing research on the health impact of a broad range of EMF, including those typical in WLAN technologies.

In case you are wondering: under the conditions dictated by the European regulatory domain, wi-fi is safe.

An easy to read fact-sheet (1 page pdf) is available, in a format and language accessible to non-specialists. An easy to navigate summary of the Opinion is also published, good for high level browsing and quick drill-downs. The full document is 218 pages and is freely downloadable from the EU Commission site.

This documents can be referenced in the WLAN policy documents of your organization. Users concerned about the health aspects of the coroporate WLAN should be directed to the policy, or to the original documents.

Categories
regulation

Towards wi-fi 6E in Italy

The approval of 6Ghz spectrum for wi-fi 6E use in Europe is governed by the European Commission decision 2021/1067/UE from 17 June 2021.

This Decision harmonises the conditions for the availability and efficient use of the 5945-6425 MHz frequency band for wireless access systems including radio local area networks (WAS/RLANs).

Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1067

By 1 December 2021 Euroean member states had to make available the 5.945-6.426 Ghz frequency band. The deadline expired and as of now, only the Netherlands have harmonized it (23 December 2021) and Ireland (11/1/2022).

Frequency band allocation in Italy is regulated by the Piano Nazionale di Ripartizione delle Frequenze (PNRF) from the Ministry of Economic Development. The latest PNRF is from 2018 and does not allow 6Ghz for WAS/RLAN.

An open consultatin on a new PNRF draft (which includes the 5.945-6.426 Ghz frequency band use) is underway with a deadline at 31 January 2022. The timetable after the consultation closes is not known.

It is possible that an updated PNRF will be published in the first months of 2022, opening up the 6Ghz frequency band in Italy and making wi-fi 6E possible in Italy.

I will follow the developments closely.