UK New 5ghz Channels

[Shonk]

The Regulator Offcom in the UK today announced a proposal to open up

Channel 144-165 for unlicensed wifi use

http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/bi.../improving-spectrum-access-consumers-5GHz.pdf

So in a couple of months we are going to have another pile of channels available

How are Asus going to add support

All EU Devces are being sold region coded to Germany

MY RT-AC88U direct from amazon.co.uk has a DE region code

also when are we going to get channel 120,124,128

if we have to wait 10mins after boot before selection of 120-128 so be it
atleast give people the option of using them with a notice if need be that there's a 10 min wait time

 

[pete y testing]

How are Asus going to add support

it would just be a firmware tweak as we use those channels already here in oz but dont use the middle channels at all and is set by the country code in the firmware

 

[Shonk]

Your missing my point

My router is region coded as german even though its uk sourced
so how would asus know what users are in the uk to offer them the new channels
that germans cant use

it would just be a firmware tweak as we use those channels already here in oz but dont use the middle channels at all and is set by the country code in the firmware

 

[Terragator]

Hi, guys!

I was a long time reader, - now first time poster.
Pardon my English - it's not my native language.

I also want to get clear answer to the question, posed by Shonk.

Here, in Russia, we have less limitations both in channels selection
and in maximum TX power, even compared to the USA.

So, 5 Ghz channels available for selection, here in Russia, should be:

34, (36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116), 120, 124, 128, (132, 136, 140) 144, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165

But we are able to select only the channels that are in brackets. 38% of the channels are missed for Russia.
Their are simply stolen from us.

Both of my ASUS routers (RT-AC88 & RT-AC5300) were set by ASUS to GERMANY region. Both were bought
via official Russian ASUS distributor.

So the only way to utilize these channels and TX power, that are approved for use here, is to flash a "special" FW.
And here the new problem - ASUS will lock the FW & CFE for "special" FW upgrade.
Believe me - I respect USA FCC laws. But I'm not in USA and their laws means nothing here.

I was a Draytek owner for years. Drayteks were stable as a rock.
I was able to select "upper 5Ghz channels", even 2 years ago, before their frequency became officially opened for use in Russia.

I switched to ASUS due to my needs in "power & speed". So I spent 720 USD for a couple of routers, that:
- can't utilize the channels, available in my country
- media bridge not working properly
- will be locked for the 3d party FW (ok, I have read, that "only the wireless part will be locked")

For example, ASUS will fix media bridge in the upcoming FW. But if I'll flash it, I'll lose the channels and their power.
And I'll not able to rollback on old "special" FW.

So, once again, ASUS, how you're going to solve this issue?

 

[wouterv]

I guess Asus simply took the shortcut in the 5 GHz channel battle.
In my opinion 5 GHz is more a pain then 2.4 GHz ever was, with the "numerous" localization rules regarding allowed channels and Tx power. Combine that with the DFS requirements and the (router firmware and chipset driver) manufacturer is brought into a real complex matrix of allowed settings per country (even within e.g. Europe with ETSI, individual countries have different rules).
My experiences are that only the non DFS channels work reliable (without the DFS timeouts): 36, 40, 44 and 48. Basically ony four channels out of the whole theorethical range.
Time to look ahead to new wireless frequencies without all those 5 GHz restrictions.

 

[Terragator]

My experiences are that only the non DFS channels work reliable (without the DFS timeouts): 36, 40, 44 and 48.

At first, DFS doesn't apply not only to 36, 40, 44, 48, but also to 149, 153, 157, 161, 165. Right now my 5 Ghz wireless bridge utilizes 80 Mhz 149 -161. But once again I'm not able to select these channels on the stock ASUS FW, despite these frequencies are clearly allowed for use at my country.

Time to look ahead to new wireless frequencies without all those 5 GHz restrictions.

Are you kidding or just want to provoke me?
I just accomplished the migration of my home network, including clients, to the 802.11AC.
According to you, It's time to throw away all this equipment to the trash, and start again with next generation 802.11 standarts?
And the second - could you guarantee, that future equipment will not be affected the same issues with local regulations and so on?

IMO I want not so much - just functionality from the ASUS devices that I paid for.

 

[wouterv]

I am not kidding.
Do not worry too much, it is like most computer based electronics: the moment you buy it, it is almost obsolete and old fashioned.
The future of 2.4 GHz is quite clear: except a few higher channels there is a global standard, it will stay as it is, most wifi equipment will probably support it for many years.
With 5 GHz we face a difference and big challenge: there is a wide variety of national rules and there is overlap with radar systems (resulting in the need for DFS).
Besides the regulation issues, the 802.11ac standard leaves lot of room for different implementations (e.g. number of data streams, with or without Multi User MIMO). Many 802.11ac client equipment support only a very small subset of the whole 802.11ac suite: for optimal performance both ends of a 802.11ac link must support the same subset of the whole suite.
For sure 802.11ac is not the end of wifi development.
A major new development points toward 60 GHz:
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/other/ces/ces-2016/32915-tp-link-ces-2016-announcements#
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11

 

[hggomes]

Are you aware of 60 GHZ band having only a maximum of 3m coverage at clear sight (no obstacles) without a disconnect?

 

[thiggins]

60 GHz 11ad will in no way replace Wi-Fi, nor is it intended to. It is at best next-room / line-of-sight technology. Its focus is VERY short-range, high-bandwidth file transfers and video mirroring.

 

[hggomes]

The question would be:

Why not use a LAN cable instead on such short-range? (specially when you also need a 60GHZ client)

Maybe it makes sense on a ordinary laptop/desktop connection but on mobile devices such as tablets/smartphones and others it's definitely a winner.

The difference between a LAN cable usage and 60 GHz 11ad is the speed, 1GBps vs 4.6GBps, even i really doubt you can reach maximum 11ad speeds without having the client literally glued to the router.

 

[pege63]

Well the range will be best under 5m

 

[wouterv]

I am fully aware of all the pros and cons of different wireless standards.
If you can cover your home with one wireless access point or router, fine. For most the solution shall be to install multiple access points that are connected by a wire to one router, the same as professionals do. I may hope that the near future of home building includes network cabling, not just electricity.

 

[hggomes]

N = 70m
AC = 30m
AD = < 5m

Those paper specs seem definitely too much optimistic / unreal to me.

 

[wouterv]

I go for:
N = 1 average home
AC = 1 room
AD = 1 meeting table

 

[RMerlin]

I go for:
N = 1 average home
AC = 1 room
AD = 1 meeting table

AC can definitely cover much more than a single room and still give you efficient throughput. My Nexus 9 can still get a 50% signal from the opposite end of my apartment.

 

[hggomes]

Yes but thats not 30m for sure, not even 15...

 

[RMerlin]

Yes but thats not 30m for sure, not even 15...

My apartment is built length-wise. That's about 20m, including 3 walls.

An AC router should be fine covering a single apartment, especially if you install it in a good location (mine isn't optimal due to the way the whole apartment is built, and the Internet entering at the front).

 

[wouterv]

My apartment is built length-wise. That's about 20m, including 3 walls.

An AC router should be fine covering a single apartment, especially if you install it in a good location (mine isn't optimal due to the way the whole apartment is built, and the Internet entering at the front).

It, of course, depends on the building material and other obstacles or reflectors.
In our 3 story home AC covers one floor because there are no concrete walls.
The 3 stories are covered quite well with 2.4 GHz N.
Main barrier here are the steel armoured concrete floors.
The router position is not ideal, it should possibly be at the middle story, cable routing is the issue.
Soon we may go over to glasfiber internet which means another router location.
Ideally, in our situation, there should be a wireless access point on each floor. My advise: when you restore your home or build a new home: pull network cables!

 

[bits]

Surely 802.11ad is not to replace 802.11ac. They are intended for different tasks.

802.11ad is for a tablet to wirelessly connect to a larger display and portable storage etc. Eg for the local user.
It further allows for the replacement of the static desktop machine. You can walk up to a workstation with your tablet and seamlessly swap from portable to full featured.

802.11ac is about connecting users to a local network of users.

Lte (or fibre) etc is about connecting local networks together.

Just like Bluetooth is for the local users, not about networking users together.

 

[Terragator]

Wow, what a discussion

For my home environment everything is simply:

None of my wireless clients are able to use 60 Ghz, so in my case,
the discussion concerning the new technologies could be only
at the theoretical aspect.

I absolutely can't use the 2,4 Ghz, because this band is overcrowded by my neighbors. INSSIDer shows at least 15 overlapping 2,4 Ghz SSIDs, some of them are 40 Mhz.

Do not worry too much, it is like most computer based electronics: the moment you buy it, it is almost obsolete and old fashioned.

Pardon, but you're missed my point - right now, in my home environment, I'm satisfied with overall performance (speed and range) of 802.11ac. I don't need more bandwidth, because I have no content (or data sources) to stream with the speeds exceeding
~ 500 Mbit for my laptops or ~ 1,7 Gbit for my buggy Media Bridge.

But this performance is not out from the box. It's from the "special" FW.

So let's back to the start of this topic - I'm not satisfied with ASUS implementations
of 802.11ac, concerning to my country. And the question was, how the ASUS going to solve this issue: add full specter of the available channels and the TX power.
I remind you, that the number of channels, available to use: Russia > USA > Germany.
So why ASUS implements Germany (not even USA) restrictions to the routers that sold
in Russia? And the topic starter’s question was quite the same.

My advise: when you restore your home or build a new home: pull network cables!

You're right, indeed. But in my case the ISP wire was pulled to the center of the apartment - with a special place, built for the wireless router. It's not mine concept,
I have inherited it from the developer. So, that’s why I need two independent 5 Ghz APs:
first one serves the clients, and the second - used for Media Bridge.
Both of my APs are 80 MHz wide.

The only one thing I'm afraid: when my neighbors will start to replace their wireless equipment to the new one, the 5 Ghz band will overcrowd again, due to ASUS channels limitations. In case if all available channels will opened, it will be much simpler to avoid collisions.