WiFi 6E is a huge upgrade to the wireless standard, as it allows broadcasting in the relatively uncongested 6GHz spectrum.
However, despite WiFi 6E phones and routers being on sale since 2021, you can’t buy them in Taiwan as 6GHz is not allowed for consumer use.
Now the latest phones are starting to ship with WiFi 7 support, Taiwan is being left behind.
@audreyt do you know when will this be resolved?
2.4GHz is over-saturated due to range and availability.
5GHz is still not very widely used and the range is more limited by walls.
IMHO Wi-Fi 6 is currently more than enough for consumer use.
| WiFi protocol version | Wi-Fi Alliance for short | available frequency band | Available Channel Bandwidth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 802.11n | Wi-Fi 4 | 2.4GHz, 5GHz | 20MHz, 40MHz |
| 802.11ac | Wi-Fi 5 | 2.4GHz, 5GHz | 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz |
| 802.11ax | Wi-Fi 6 | 2.4GHz, 5GHz | 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz |
| 802.11ax | Wi-Fi 6E | 2.4GHz, 5GHz, 6GHz | 20MHz, 40MHz, 80MHz, 160MHz |
But I agree long term that Taiwan needs to adapt to new international standards. I imagine this problem is on their radar.
Maybe @fifieldt can get more information on the regulations adaptation regarding Wi-Fi 6E.
At home I still use an older router with WiFi 5.
Our household is the only one using 5GHz in the area.
I have recently set up WiFi mesh with B.A.T.M.A.N. (I guess my avatar is oddly appropriate) using 5Ghz for backhaul. I wanted to use 2.4Ghz, but that was buggy on Openwrt. Some of the mesh nodes have physical UTP backhaul. Clients use 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz with different VLANs having SSID set up on both. I really do not need 6Ghz, although I guess it would be cool just for being new and shiny.
I had planned to look into how frequency allocation works in TW some time soon. Will share what I find. If anyone has some easy starting points (allocation tables, regulation links), that’d be welcome.
The National Communications Commission (NCC) is responsible for allocating the wireless spectrum in Taiwan.
It’s possible that their planned 2023 auction is what is holding up the release of 6Ghz for consumer use:
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) is planning to launch a second round of 5G spectrum auctions in 2023 after consulting with the NCC, the MOTC said Sunday.
In the second round of auctions, the MOTC said it has tentatively planned to release 200MHz in bandwidth in the frequency range of below 6GHz, and 37-40GHz in bandwidth in the frequency range of above 6GHz.
Edit: TP-Link Taiwan put up a product page for a WiFi 6E router with message “coming soon”. Maybe they’re excepting the law to change soon?
Looks like WiFi 6E is now allowed in Taiwan! 
The 6E band was recently enabled for use in Taiwan. This means that use of the WiFi 6E band on Steam Deck OLED units will be disabled until at least January 2024.
Steam Deck OLED Delay in Taiwan – Steam Deck
According to the Taiwan NCC and the Ministry of Digital Affairs, Wifi 6e products can be submitted for approval and allowed for sale in Taiwan starting from this September.
Wifi 6e support in Taiwan in the future - Meta Community Forums - 1090587
On 25th August 2023, the Ministry of Digital Affairs of Taiwan published the amended Table of Radio Frequency Allocations which approved the usage of WiFi 6E frequency band. Details are as below:
The frequency band is 5945 - 6425MHz.
Power limit is 23 dBm EIRP for low power indoor and 14dBm EIRP for very low power devices. The devices must support interference avoidance feature such as Listen – Before – Talk (LBT).
The drones are not allowed to operate in above frequency band.
Wifi 6E’s frequency in Taiwan is only from 5.925 GHZ to 6.425GHz, not like the US that can go up to 7.125 GHz.
Isn’t wifi 7 coming out next year?
The issue is more that 6ghz tri-band wifi was not allowed, not the version number. Wifi 7 also can support 6ghz tri-band, but only if 6ghz use is allowed in Taiwan.
Taiwanese companies are getting ready making WiFi 7 products. But use in Taiwan must be approved by Ministry of Digital Affairs. Don’t expect WiFi 7 before 2025, but I suspect it will take longer than that.
Until home internet speeds get faster, I guess there really isn’t any rush to upgrade.
Thanks for the update.
Looks like it’s already approved - here’s an Acer 6E router for sale plus 2x mesh systems:
https://24h.pchome.com.tw/store/DRAFKO
Just curious. Would it have been illegal to buy a Wi-Fi 6e router from Amazon or bring one in before it was approved?
It would have been illegal to use it with the 6ghz band enabled.
Yes. It shouldn’t be able to pass through customs.
Most routers/devices have a setting where you can set the country of use. Then it should automatically use only the allowed frequencies.
If you would get in one and operate in non authorized frequencies, you could be fined substantial amounts (up to 200k NTD) if caught.
Telecommunications Act - National Communications Commission（國家通訊傳播委員會）
Article 58
Anyone who sets up or uses a radio broadcast station or TV station to send radio frequency signals in violation of paragraph 5 of Article 46, that results in disturbing legal utilization of radio waves shall be penalized with imprisonment of not more than two years, detention, and/or a fine of not more than NT$600,000.
Anyone who arbitrarily uses or alters radio frequency in violation of paragraph 1 of Article 48 without authorization shall be penalized with detention, and/or a fine of not more than NT$200,000.
Anyone who has committed the aforementioned offence, thereby disturbing legal utilization of radio waves, shall be penalized with imprisonment of not more than two years, detention, and/or a fine of not more than NT$600,000.
Telecommunications Act - Article Search/Content Search Result - Laws & Regulations Database of The Republic of China (Taiwan)
