AFC (automated frequency coordination)

Standard power is the 6 GHz mode that allows an access point to run up to 36 dBm EIRP and 23 dBm/MHz¹ in U-NII-5 and U-NII-7, and it is not limited to indoor use. The price is an AFC. Before it transmits, the AP reports its location to the AFC, which returns the frequencies and maximum power it may use. The AFC computes that from the licensed microwave links near the AP, so the grant is a function of where the AP is, not of what the AP wants.

The grant does not last. Standard-power APs must re-check their availability at least once a day, so an AP quickly stops using a frequency that becomes licensed nearby. If a re-check removes channels, the AP loses them, and a design that assumed those channels has to survive without them. The rule is in 47 CFR 15.407².

The other 6 GHz modes need no such lease. Low-power indoor APs are limited to 30 dBm EIRP and indoor use and do not use an AFC. Geofenced variable power devices, covered by the FCC’s January 2026 action³, run at up to 24 dBm EIRP and are kept out of exclusion zones by a geofencing system instead. In January 2026 the same document sought comment on composite standard-power and low-power indoor APs.

AFC does not guarantee a channel, and it does not make 6 GHz deterministic. It protects incumbents, not your application’s timeout. For outdoor sites, see outdoor yards and ports, the 6 GHz guide and the standard power and AFC tracker.

An AFC grant is a lease, so plan for the day it comes back smaller.

Ben Rutter. "AFC (automated frequency coordination)." OT Wireless, published October 6, 2026. https://otwireless.com/glossary/afc/

Rutter, B. (2026, October 6). AFC (automated frequency coordination). OT Wireless. https://otwireless.com/glossary/afc/

@misc{rutter2026afc,
  author = {Rutter, Ben},
  title = {{AFC (automated frequency coordination)}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://otwireless.com/glossary/afc/}},
  organization = {OT Wireless},
}