Latest update on NBTC regarding Wi-Fi 6E

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) of Thailand is an independent regulatory body responsible for managing the country's broadcasting, television, and telecommunications services, including spectrum allocation, licensing, and setting technical standards.

NBTC held a public hearing on the draft amendments for the 5.925 – 6.425 GHz frequency band earlier this year. The subsequent progress updates are as follows:

1. Standard Announcement Delay: The formal announcement of this standard is expected to be delayed, with a tentative release between October and November 2024.

2. Duty Cycle Evaluation Requirement: In response to feedback from licensed frequency users, who proposed controlling Wi-Fi 6E usage through duty cycle limitations, NBTC will      introduce a duty cycle evaluation requirement when using ETSI EN test reports.

    No Specific Limit in NBTC Standard: The NBTC standard itself will not set a specific duty cycle limit but will follow the limits specified by the ETSI EN standard.

    ETSI EN Standard Limits: According to the current ETSI EN standard, only narrowband transmission equipment is required to have a duty cycle not exceeding 1/15. For non-narrowband equipment, while the test report must include a duty cycle evaluation, it can report any value.

NBTC recognizes that duty cycle evaluations are typically included in test reports, so they foresee no issues in adding this requirement to their technical standard.