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  Internet access has become a must have for many homes, businesses and owners of laptop computers and other mobile connectivity devices, fueling the increasing popularity of wireless Internet access. Wireless Internet access utilizes signals carried through the air by electromagnetic waves called the wireless spectrum. In the United States, the wireless spectrum is a natural resource available for public use, and is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which determines appropriate uses for various frequencies within the spectrum.
  
  

Wireless Spectrum

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  The wireless spectrum is the name given to electromagnetic waves used for data and voice communications. Within the spectrum, electromagnetic waves are arranged according to their frequency. The wireless spectrum spans from 9 KHz to 300 GHz. Differing frequencies in the wireless spectrum support different uses, according to the regulations set by the FCC. For example, AM radio broadcasts are assigned to the spectrum range of 535 to 1605 KHz, while other wireless communication technologies operate within other predetermined frequencies. Wireless Internet frequencies range from about 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz.
  
  

2.4Ghz Wireless Access

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  Wireless Internet access in the United States has used the range of 2.4 to 2.4835 GHz for many years, sharing the frequency with other wireless devices. The 2.4 GHz band, the term that describes this frequency range, is made up of 11 unlicensed communications channels that the FCC allows users to access without the need to register for service or reserve a frequency. Other devices using the 2.4 GHz band, such as cordless telephones, create interference with the wireless signals emanating from other wireless devices operating in the 2.4 GHz band and often causes connectivity issues to arise whenever two devices on the same frequency operate on the same channel. Many times, changing the channel on devices utilizing the 2.4 GHz band that operate within close proximity to one another will alleviate this issue, but the increase in the popularity of wireless Internet access has led to the FCC allowing wireless Internet access and communications devices to use the 5 GHz band.
  
  

5 GHz Band

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  The 5 GHz band consists of four different frequency bands: 5.1 GHz, 5.3 GHz, 5.4 GHz, and 5.8 GHz. These bands combined offer a total of 24 unlicensed channels of 20 MHz each. The 5 GHz band is the band in use for newer types of wireless Internet access points, but there are issues with this band as well. The 5 GHz band is shared with weather and military radar communications devices that require newer wireless devices operating within the 5 GHz range to continuously monitor for signals propagating from radar installations and in order to automatically change channels to avoid interference.