OFCOM made the Wireless Telegraphy (Dynamic Spectrum Access Devices) (Exemption) Regulations 2026 on 27 October 2026. They come into force on 10 November 2026 and exempt the establishment, installation and use of specified devices in the 5925 to 7125 MHz band from the licensing requirement in section 8(1) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006, provided every condition in the instrument is met. The key regulatory point is that this is not an unrestricted licence exemption. Access to the band is conditional on device class, power limits, geolocation, and continuing co-ordination through an automated frequency control process overseen by OFCOM.
The exemption covers three device types: standard power access points, fixed client devices and mobile client devices. All must operate on land and must use interference mitigation techniques at least equivalent to ETSI standard EN 303 687 v1.1.1 (2023-06), which the Regulations identify expressly. Standard power access points and fixed client devices sit at the higher-power end of the scheme. Both must have geolocation capability, both are limited to fixed locations, both may use up to 320 MHz nominal bandwidth, and both are capped at 23 dBm per MHz power spectral density and 36 dBm maximum EIRP within the nominal channel.
Mobile client devices are treated more narrowly. They do not operate from a fixed location, but they are subject to lower transmission limits: a maximum power spectral density of 17 dBm per MHz and a maximum EIRP that must be at least 6 dB below the associated standard power access point, up to an absolute ceiling of 30 dBm. The Regulations also prevent mobile or client-to-client relay use in this band. A mobile client device must be connected to a standard power access point, must not connect to another mobile or fixed client device while operating in the band, and must not be used in a moving vehicle.
The AFC system sits at the centre of the operating model. The Regulations define it as an automated radio frequency co-ordination system run by an organisation registered by OFCOM under section 53A of the 2006 Act to provide a dynamic spectrum access service in the UK. In plain terms, the device does not decide for itself which channels and power levels are available at a location; the AFC system assigns permitted operating parameters and the device must stay within them. Those parameters may authorise one or more nominal channels or frequency ranges, together with a maximum permitted power spectral density and maximum permitted EIRP for each. A standard power access point must receive those parameters before operating in the band, and a fixed client device must also operate within AFC-derived limits. The Regulations allow a reduced-power mode while a fixed client device is communicating with a standard power access point to obtain AFC parameters, capped at 17 dBm per MHz and 30 dBm EIRP.
The compliance duties on access points and fixed client devices are ongoing rather than one-off. Fresh AFC contact is required on power-up and every 24 hours thereafter. If, on a second or later request, the device cannot reach the AFC system, it may continue using its most recent parameters for one further 24-hour period. After that point, operations must stop until communication is restored and new parameters are obtained. The Regulations also control how AFC information is distributed. Standard power access points may communicate operational parameters to fixed client devices, but fixed client devices may not pass those parameters onward to other fixed or mobile client devices, and they must not connect to those devices while operating in the band.
OFCOM has paired that refresh cycle with detailed data and configuration requirements. Before parameters are issued, the access point or fixed client device must provide antenna latitude and longitude, associated geolocation uncertainty, antenna height above ground level or above mean sea level, and a unique device identifier made up of manufacturer, model and serial number elements. Users must not be able to alter AFC-related technical or operational settings in a way that changes those device characteristics. For suppliers and installers, that points to locked-down configuration controls rather than editable local settings.
The technical conditions extend beyond top-line power caps. Regulation 13 sets a staged out-of-channel emission regime, requiring power spectral density to be progressively suppressed as frequency separation increases from the nominal channel edge. Compliance therefore depends on spectrum hygiene as well as on maximum EIRP and power spectral density within the channel. That matters for procurement and assurance as much as for legal interpretation. Radio design, filtering and testing will need to show conformity with the emission limits in regulation 13 alongside the interference mitigation requirements imported from the ETSI standard named in regulation 4.
The practical effect is a licence-exempt route for certain 6 GHz deployments, but only inside an AFC-managed compliance framework. For qualifying deployments, the individual wireless telegraphy licensing step falls away; the operational burden instead sits in device design, installation data, and recurring interaction with an OFCOM-registered AFC provider. For network operators, vendors and installers, the immediate task is classification and control: identifying whether equipment is a standard power access point, fixed client device or mobile client device, and then matching that status to the correct power limits, connectivity rules and refresh obligations. The instrument does not extend to the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.