Revised Regulation for WiFi Frequency Bands in Japan: Opening Doors for Wi-Fi 6E

                                                                                                                                                                                       

The Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications (MIC) in Japan did on 2 September publish the “Ministerial Ordinance Partially Revising the Regulations for the Enforcement of the Radio Law (2020 MIC Ordinance No. 59)” which is revising the system introducing the 6 GHz Band (5925-6425 MHz) for WLAN and the 5.2 GHz band for WLAN in vehicles. As a result of this revision, Japan has opened for use of Wi-Fi 6E (both indoors and outdoors) and thereby follows the more than 20 countries which has have so far adopted this frequency band.

Amongst other, the introduction of Wi-Fi 6E will further enhance the usability of smartphones and tablets and help to avoid potential Wi-Fi problems with the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands for critical applications like video conferencing. It will also dramatically improve speed and responsiveness for High Performance Computing

To aid with the introduction of the upgraded WiFi frequency bands, MIC has provided a handbook, with a set of appendices. The handbook is denoted “Handbook of conformity certification for 6 GHz wireless LAN and 5.2GHz in-vehicle wireless LAN (Edition 1.0)”. Some of its key points are: 

• The certification body cannot add 6 GHz to existing certifications under the same number. A new certification number is required because there is a new Item No. for this (i.e. not 19-3 for 6 GHz).
  
  
• The 5.8 GHz band is excluded for use in radio equipment. Therefore, for frequencies outside the certification range, it is necessary to apply a mask so as not to emit radio waves. Devices that can be set to enable radio wave emission arbitrarily on the user side, such as the "country selection function", cannot be certified.
  
  
• In the Construction Design Sheet Form, the rated output power shall be the value declared by the
  applicant and not the measured value.

For further information and/or assistance with certification, please contact Vina.Kerai@nemko.com

(Article is based on text provided by Vina Kerai, edited by T.Sollie)