What changed for 2400MHz, 5100MHz and 5800MHz equipment? Direct answer

The 2400MHz band supports broadband wireless access including WLAN, Bluetooth and point-to-point links. The 5100MHz band supports broadband wireless access but is limited to indoor use and excludes use inside automobiles. The 5800MHz band supports broadband wireless access, point-to-point links and electronic toll collection. No station or device has exclusive use of these shared bands.

For equipment in these bands, the RF unit and antenna must be integrated or designed and produced with synchronized matching. Users may not substitute another antenna or add an RF power amplifier. Equipment generally needs radio transmitting equipment model approval, except qualifying micro-power short-range equipment governed by MIIT Announcement 2019 No. 52.

A wireless LAN access point, broadband wireless access centre station or point-to-point station needs a provincial radio station licence only when it is outdoors and its EIRP is more than 20 dBm in 2400MHz or more than 30 dBm in 5800MHz. Other equipment and stations in the three bands do not need a station licence under this notice. A 5100MHz station must remain more than 3 km from a lawfully used same-band satellite radionavigation or fixed-satellite earth station operating in the space-to-Earth direction.

The technical transition is now over for new applications. Before 15 October 2023, equipment meeting the former rules but not the new technical requirements could still apply for model approval or an extension under the former rules. The official interpretation says equipment already put into use could remain in use until scrapped, and explains that a model approval's validity controls production, import, domestic sale and use rather than an end user's possession period.