60GHz Regulations in Canada

September 7, 2017

Wi-Fi, as most of us know, operates on the 2.4GHz or 5 GHz band. But there are, actually, others 802.11 protocols utilizing other frequency bands (900MHz, 60GHz,…). Today, we will be talking about the regulations of using the 60GHz frequency band in Canada. This band is used for the 802.11 protocols known as 802.11ad (now 802.11-2016 Clause 20) and 802.11ay.

In Canada, ISED (previously Industry Canada) is in charge of regulating frequencies. The information you will find in this blog article are coming from the following document published by ISED called RSS-210 — Licence-Exempt Radio Apparatus: Category I Equipment.

The section we are interested in today is called Annex J — Devices Operating in the Band 57-64 GHz.

CHANNELS AVAILABLE

There are 3 channels available in the 60GHz band in Canada. These channels are 2.16GHz wide:

1st channel: from 57.24 GHz to 59.40 GHz
2nd channel: from 59.40 GHz to 61.56 GHz
3rd channel: from 61.56 GHz to 63.72 GHz

Below is a graphic showing which other channels are used in this 60 GHz band across the world. You will notice that channel 2 is available everywhere:

POWER REGULATIONS

Here are the power regulations for indoor devices:

Output power: max. 500 mW
Average EIRP: max. 40 dBm (10 W)
Peak EIRP: max. 43 dBm (20 W)

The regulations for outdoor devices are more complicated and you can find them under section J.2.2. However, I believe that most of the 802.11ad and 802.11ay products will be intended to be used indoor.