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5GHz Band Channel Availability in Canada

8/5/2014

10 Comments

 
UPDATE - December 2018:
Industry Canada has updated their radio standards specifications for Wi-Fi equipments operating in the 5GHz frequency band. Check out this article to see what is new:

5GHz Regulations in Canada (2018 Update)

Channel availability in the 5GHz spectrum space is a hot subject right now. It is so, mainly because of the new 802.11ac standard that allows the use of channel width up to 160MHz (for 802.11ac wave 2). Commonly 40MHz and 80MHz channels are mainly used, if possible.

As a Network Engineer, it is then important to know how many channels are available so you can design your wireless network accordingly. The more channels available you have, the better it is. It allows you to avoid CCI (or co-channel interference) which are deadly to any Wi-Fi network.

I found it pretty easy to find the information about 5GHz channels availability in the US. However, it’s very hard to find the same information for Canada. US telecommunications are regulated by the FCC (Federal Communication Commission). In Canada, IC (Industry Canada) is responsible for administering the technical standards and certification of equipment, managing the radio spectrum and the allocation of frequencies. So I dug into the IC’s official documents and finally found the useful information I am about to share with you!

Here are the details about the channels available in the 5GHz spectrum space in Canada :
Picture
Canadian Weather Radar operates in the 5600-5650 MHz band (Channel 120, 124 and 128). Industry Canada recommends that no equipment operate in this band, or interference to weather radar will result. In practical, no Wi-Fi operations are permitted on these channels.

What about DFS? DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection) is a mechanism that allows wireless LANs to coexist with radar systems. It automatically selects a frequency that does not interfere with the radar systems. In Canada, any Wi-Fi devices operating on the channels 52-64, 100-116 and 132-140  have to employ a DFS radar detection mechanism. The use of DFS while implementing a Wi-Fi network is the choice of the Engineer. It allows you to use more channels for sure, however, the frequency change might bring some instability in the network. Moreover, the client devices  are not always certified for DFS band operation which is the case for many portable devices. Therefore, many engineers prefer implementing their network without the use of these "DFS" channels.

The following chart puts the results in perspective illustrating the 5GHz channels with the DFS and Weather Radar restrictions:
Picture

This following table  compares the channel availability in the 5GHz band in Canada  with the rest of the world (without the use of DFS):
Picture
So channel availability in the 5GHz band in Canada happens to be the same as in the USA. The difference between the 2 countries occurs at the maximum power and EIRP level.

Written by François Vergès


Source : Document from Industry Canada : “RSS-210 - Licence-exempt Radio Apparatus (All Frequency Bands): Category I Equipment”  Annex 9 - Local Area Network Devices
10 Comments
Bruno Marchildon link
9/19/2016 13:08:35

Très intéressant cette information pour le Canada.

Reply
Frederic
5/11/2017 08:44:20

Merci pour l'info. Très bonne article.

Reply
Anees
5/11/2017 12:24:40

Well written article Francois

Reply
Étienne D
2/20/2018 22:22:46

Merci pour l'article, c'est exactement ce que je cherchais.

Reply
Richard link
6/23/2018 04:12:56

Then what's the best channel for 2.4GHz?

Reply
celbet link
11/23/2018 12:06:35

Hi linksys tech,
I hope you can help me…. I know nothing about WIFI Routers or anything else lol…. But I need help! I live in a 2 story 5 Bedroom house and the area we live in has terrible service Internet and Cell phone…. and a lot of people on different devices computers, laptops, printers, gaming systems and Iphones….. the issue is that in certain parts of the house things are terrible so I was told to get a wifi router to boost the signal would you please recommend something for me.
Thank you,

Reply
power window repair broward link
4/25/2019 13:07:48

Channel availability in the 5GHz spectrum space is a hot subject right now. It is so, mainly because of the new 802.11ac standard that allows the use of channel width up to 160MHz (for 802.11ac wave 2). Commonly 40MHz and 80MHz channels are mainly used, if possible.

Reply
8675309
7/18/2019 01:44:47

the max with wave 2 is 80 while wave 3 is 160(but very few materialized after the fcc decision against tp-link) now with ax wave 2 we have 180

Reply
market research company in Qatar link
9/5/2019 14:51:56

Channel availability in the 5GHz spectrum space is a hot subject right now. It is so, mainly because of the new 802.11ac standard that allows the use of channel width up to 160MHz (for 802.11ac wave 2). Commonly 40MHz and 80MHz channels are mainly used, if possible.

Reply
market research company in Turkey link
9/7/2019 07:38:42

Channel availability in the 5GHz spectrum space is a hot subject right now. It is so, mainly because of the new 802.11ac standard that allows the use of channel width up to 160MHz (for 802.11ac wave 2). Commonly 40MHz and 80MHz channels are mainly used, if possible

Reply



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    François Vergès

    François Vergès is the founder of SemFio Networks. As a Network Engineer, he has a real passion for Wi-Fi.

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