Federated Wireless, Cisco validate commercial standard power for Wi-Fi 6E, 7

Federated Wireless and Cisco have successfully validated and deployed Standard Power Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 in enterprise environments across the US and Canada.

Putting their move into perspective, the private wireless and shared spectrum services provider and the networking and IT giant noted that enterprises and venues have historically struggled to deliver reliable, high-capacity wireless connectivity in outdoor and high-ceiling environments – such as college campuses and stadiums – due to spectrum congestion and limitations on 6GHz Wi-Fi deployment.

Enabled by Federated Wireless’s Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) service and Cisco’s advanced wireless infrastructure, the technology deployments are said to demonstrate readiness of the Wi-Fi 6E wireless comms standard for enterprise use and provide a blueprint for organisations preparing for Wi-Fi 7.

AFC certifications from the Federal Communications Commission and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) are designed to allow enterprises to access the 6GHz spectrum at Standard Power indoors, outdoors and with external antennas without interfering with incumbents in the 6GHz band.

For its part, Cisco says that when combined with Federated Wireless’s AFC service, its platform can enable the safe and scalable use of the 6GHz band across North America, extending 6GHz coverage outdoors and solving persistent pain points for indoors.

“6GHz-enabled Wi-Fi translates to higher speeds, lower latency, greater reliability and increased security for North America’s most important industries,” said Matt Landry, vice-president of product management at Cisco Wireless. “Alongside partners like Federated Wireless, we’re demonstrating the full potential of the 6GHz band and the pivotal role Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 play in driving innovation – extending and enhancing wireless as well as future-proofing networks.”

Iyad Tarazi, CEO of Federated Wireless, added: “By combining our AFC innovation and AI [artificial intelligence]-enabled planning tools with Cisco’s leading wireless infrastructure, we’re giving enterprises a reliable path to scale in the 6GHz band – unlocking the performance needed for Wi-Fi 7, and the next generation of immersive, automated and data-driven applications.”

Aiming to prove the technology’s utility, the partners noted that early adopters have already demonstrate the benefits of unlicensed 6GHz spectrum. Nutrien, a provider of agricultural inputs and services, has deployed Wi-Fi 6E in the US and Canada and is said to have improved wireless performance in challenging manufacturing and remote environments, including high-ceiling industrial spaces and under-connected outdoor zones.

“Our operations span a wide range of industrial sites and thousands of employees across North America, all of which depend on reliable, high-performance wireless connectivity,” said Nutrien senior solutions architect Brock Richards.

“By leveraging Cisco Wi-Fi 6E technology with 6GHz Standard Power and Meraki cloud management, along with Federated Wireless’s AFC service, we’re able to deliver secure, consistent coverage in even the most challenging RF environments. This gives us the capacity to support real-time control systems, IoT [internet of things] data flows and automation … scaling digital innovation across the enterprise while making smarter use of valuable spectrum.”

Yet the usage of the 6GHz is hugely contentious, seeing a battle between traditional telcos and wireless broadband providers. In May 2025, the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance called on the European Commission to support allocation of the upper 6GHz band to licence-exempt use for its members to ensure Europe uses Wi-Fi technologies to benefit Europe’s businesses to the fullest, just weeks after a collection of leading European telecoms operators urged regulatory action to make available the complete upper 6GHz band for the mobile comms services they provide.