What changes on 10 November for UK 6GHz Wi-Fi and outdoor wireless bridges
On Tuesday 10 November 2026 two UK wireless rule changes come into force. They are easy to mix up, and mixing them up leads to the wrong decision: either expecting a home router to jump in speed overnight, or expecting a new outdoor 6GHz bridge to switch on at higher power the same morning.
One change is about ordinary indoor Wi-Fi. The other is about higher-power equipment used for outdoor access points and point-to-point bridges that carry a Starlink or future Amazon Leo connection between buildings. Here is what each rule does, what still cannot happen yet, and what it means for UK homes and businesses.
Two regulations, two jobs
Both instruments were made on 27 October 2026 and come into force on 10 November 2026.
The first is the Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2026, numbered SI 2026/1133. It updates the UK's licence exemption for short-range devices so that it refers to Ofcom's October 2026 edition of IR 2030, the technical rulebook for this equipment.
That October edition, marked as change 1.17, extends Wi-Fi and similar wireless access systems into 6425 to 6585 MHz "under the same conditions as the existing authorisation for 5925-6425 MHz (low power indoor and very low power use)." In the updated table, entry IR2030/7/6 lists the band as 5925 to 6585 MHz.
The second is the Wireless Telegraphy (Dynamic Spectrum Access Devices) (Exemption) Regulations 2026, numbered SI 2026/1132. It creates a separate, conditional licence exemption for higher-power "standard power" devices across the whole 5925 to 7125 MHz band, but only when an Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) system run by an organisation registered with Ofcom tells each device which channels and power it may use at its location.
What indoor 6GHz Wi-Fi gains
Until 9 November, licence-exempt low-power 6GHz Wi-Fi in the UK used 5925 to 6425 MHz — a 500 MHz block first opened to this use in 2020. From 10 November the IR 2030 table runs to 6585 MHz, which is 160 MHz more.
The power and siting rules for that low-power use stay the same. IR2030/7/6 says:
The equipment must not form part of a fixed outdoor installation.
Low-power indoor apparatus may only be used inside a building or a similarly enclosed space.
The maximum mean EIRP is 250 mW for low-power indoor use, and 25 mW for very-low-power indoor and mobile outdoor use.
The maximum mean EIRP density is 12.6 mW per MHz.
This is extra clean spectrum for indoor Wi-Fi 6E and 6GHz Wi-Fi 7 kit. It is not a new outdoor bridge band, and it does not make the satellite or fibre connection itself any faster. There is simply more room on the wireless side once both ends have software that knows the new UK range.
A router labelled Wi-Fi 7 does not automatically have a 6GHz radio. Only kit that names 6GHz can use the new block, and only after an update. BroadbandSwitch.uk reported on 4 November 2026 that it had found no announcement yet from UK providers or major router makers about firmware for the new channels, and we have not seen a later notice that changes that.
What higher-power outdoor 6GHz still needs
SI 2026/1132 is the rule people mean when they talk about higher-power 6GHz outdoors. A standard power access point must know its location, stay in a fixed place, and take its settings from an AFC system. Within the limits the AFC sets, it may transmit at up to 36 dBm EIRP, with power spectral density capped at 23 dBm per MHz, on channels up to 320 MHz wide, across 5925 to 7125 MHz. Fixed client devices — the other end of a point-to-point link — have the same upper limits, with a lower fallback of 30 dBm EIRP and 17 dBm per MHz when they pick up settings through the access point rather than from the AFC directly.
Devices must ask the AFC for fresh parameters every time they power on and whenever 24 hours have passed. If they cannot reach the AFC on a later request, they may keep the last settings for one more 24-hour period, then they must stop transmitting. Users must not be able to change the AFC-related settings. The equipment may be used on land only.
Ofcom's AFC page explains why the database is there: the system looks at the device's location and the protected services already using the 6GHz band nearby, then returns the frequencies and power it may use. Ofcom mentions outdoor Wi-Fi and fixed wireless access in rural areas among the uses it expects to benefit.
None of that can start without a registered AFC provider. Ofcom says organisations must apply and be added to its public register before they can offer the service. We checked Ofcom's AFC page on 8 November 2026; it still describes that register but lists no provider name. Independent checks reported the same on 2 November (btw.media) and 4 November (BroadbandSwitch.uk).
Until a named provider appears, and until a given bridge has firmware that talks to the UK system, a 6GHz outdoor radio cannot lawfully use the standard-power exemption.
What this means for linking buildings on Starlink or Amazon Leo
Many of the properties that choose satellite broadband have more than one building to connect: a house and a workshop, a yard office, staff accommodation or holiday lets. The dish usually sits on the main building. The hop to the far building is often a point-to-point wireless bridge.
That is exactly the job higher-power 6GHz is meant to help with — cleaner spectrum than busy 5GHz, and more useful range than low-power indoor 6GHz. The picture on the eve of the start date is more specific:
Do not expect an existing 5GHz or 60GHz link to change on 10 November.
Do not take a home router outside and treat the extra 160 MHz as an outdoor path. IR 2030 still says low-power 6GHz equipment must not be a fixed outdoor installation.
If you are specifying a new Wi-Fi 7 bridge that advertises 5GHz and 6GHz together, ask whether it will speak to a UK-registered AFC system and when that firmware will be available. Until then, plan on 5GHz, or 60GHz for a short, clear hop, to carry the link.
The extra indoor 160 MHz can still help inside the buildings at each end of a link, once kit is updated: more 6GHz room for mesh nodes and client devices around a Starlink or future Amazon Leo connection.
What to do this week
Keep firmware updates on for any Wi-Fi 6E or 6GHz Wi-Fi 7 router or mesh you already own.
If Wi-Fi feels slow, test a wired connection first. Extra channels cannot raise the speed of the satellite or fibre service itself.
Leave working outdoor bridges in place. A surveyed 5GHz or 60GHz link with clear line of sight, firm mounts and proper power-over-Ethernet and surge protection remains the practical way to share a satellite connection across a site.
When you next buy a 6GHz outdoor bridge, treat UK AFC support as a specification to check, not a label to assume.
Professional installation from Space Internet Solutions
Space Internet Solutions installs Starlink for homes and businesses and is preparing customers for Amazon Leo. Alongside the dish, we design and fit the network behind it: Cat6 and power-over-Ethernet, mesh Wi-Fi, and point-to-point wireless bridges that carry the connection to workshops, offices and outbuildings. Through our nationwide network of trusted PLEO (Professional Low Earth Orbit) installers, the same standard of survey and installation is available anywhere in the UK.
If you want to link another building to your satellite connection, we can survey the path and recommend the right band and kit. To book a survey or installation with a trusted professional installer nationwide, visit spaceinternetsolutions.com.
Sources: The Wireless Telegraphy (Dynamic Spectrum Access Devices) (Exemption) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/1132) and The Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/1133), both made 27 October 2026 and coming into force 10 November 2026; Ofcom IR 2030 (October 2026, change 1.17), table IR2030/7/6; Ofcom, Automated Frequency Coordination page, checked 8 November 2026; Ofcom statement on enabling AFC in the 6 GHz band (July 2026); BroadbandSwitch.uk (4 November 2026); btw.media (2 November 2026).
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