US cable's largest lobbying organization renewed its call for the FCC to open up the 5.9GHz band for unlicensed use after initial tests showed that WiFi can operate safely in what is widely viewed as a valuable but underutilized swath of wireless spectrum.

Phase I of those tests, conducted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) in coordination with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and Department of Transportation, found that the prototype devices used could "reliably" detect incumbent Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) signals.

For the Phase I tests, Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), Qualcomm Inc.(Nasdaq: QCOM), KEA Tech, Broadcom Corp. (Nasdaq: BRCM) and CAV Technologies submitted nine devices for the trial, which was designed to detect DSRC signals and then either vacate the spectrum entirely or share a portion of it with "non-safety" related communications using techniques similar to WiFi sharing. Some 1,450 individual tests, with more than 1 million data points were collected, according to the FCC OET.

Proposals for the band include a detect-and-vacate option whereby a device intending to operate in the spectrum would be required to cease transmission when DSRC activity is detected, and a re-channelization proposal that would restructure the band.