Ofcom Opens 160 MHz to Wi-Fi on 10 November

Ofcom Has Drawn the Wi-Fi Line at 6585 MHz. The Rule Starts Next Week.

Why it matters

Britain’s upper-6-GHz debate has produced a usable boundary: 160 more megahertz for licence-exempt low-power Wi-Fi from 10 November. The instrument changes what equipment may do; the remaining 540 MHz still belongs to a different sharing bargain.

Daniel Kade2 November 2026 at 08:17 UTCReading Time 2 minLast update: 2 November 2026

Ofcom has set a low-power Wi-Fi exemption for 6425–6585 MHz from 10 November 2026.

Summary

Ofcom’s new exemption brings 6425–6585 MHz into the same low-power Wi-Fi regime as the existing lower-6-GHz band on 10 November 2026.
The October IR 2030 sets 250 mW maximum mean EIRP for low-power indoor devices and 25 mW for very-low-power indoor or mobile outdoor devices across 5925–6585 MHz.

A spectrum proposal is cheap to applaud. A rule that tells a radio where it can transmit is worth rather more. Ofcom made the Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2026 on 27 October; they enter into force on 10 November. The amendment updates the reference in the 2021 exemption rules to October’s IR 2030. That interface requirement took effect on 23 October. Together they extend the licence-exempt Wi-Fi range from 5925–6425 MHz to 5925–6585 MHz.

The 160 MHz gain sits exactly between 6425 and 6585 MHz. Ofcom’s updated IR 2030 applies the existing lower-6-GHz conditions to the new slice. Low-power indoor equipment has a maximum mean EIRP of 250 mW. Very-low-power indoor and mobile outdoor equipment has 25 mW. The indoor category must operate inside a building or comparably enclosed space. A product team now has a frequency boundary, power class and date to put into a compliance matrix; a network buyer has a sharper question than “supports 6 GHz?”

The boundary also settles what this instrument actually buys. Ofcom’s July sharing decision put Wi-Fi first in the lower 160 MHz of upper 6 GHz and mobile first in the 540 MHz above 6585 MHz. Outdoor or higher-power Wi-Fi under automated frequency coordination follows a separate control path. October’s rule switches on the low-power exemption for the first slice. The 540 MHz above 6585 MHz retains a separate, coordinated route.

Four respondents supported the draft exemption and interface update during Ofcom’s notice process. Ofcom adopted substantially the draft it published in July. The policy argument has therefore crossed its decisive administrative step: manufacturers and operators can now test actual device settings against a final instrument and a calendar date.