6 GHz Wi-Fi Planner
Plan 6 GHz Wi-Fi 6E/7: channel count for your regulatory domain, LPI or standard-power EIRP and the resulting cell radius.
About 6 GHz Wi-Fi Planner
6 GHz power is regulated as a power spectral density, so a wider channel is allowed more total EIRP up to a fixed ceiling. Inverting the free-space path loss equation at 6.5 GHz turns that EIRP and the client's sensitivity into a line-of-sight cell radius. 6 GHz is the first Wi-Fi band with enough spectrum for genuine one-AP-per-channel reuse, but LPI power limits mean cells are smaller than the 5 GHz ones they replace, so AP counts go up.
Formula
6 GHz Wi-Fi
channels = spectrum ÷ width; EIRP = min(cap, PSD limit + 10·log10(width)); radius solves 20·log10(d_km) + 20·log10(6500) + 32.44 = EIRP − sensitivity.
- psd
- 5 dBm/MHz for LPI, 23 dBm/MHz for AFC standard power
- capDbm
- Absolute EIRP ceiling: 30 dBm LPI, 36 dBm standard power
Worked example
With the default values below, 6 GHz Wi-Fi Planner returns Non-Overlapping Channels of 7. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Available 6 GHz spectrumone of 1200 MHz — 5925–7125 (FCC, full band), 500 MHz — 5945–6425 (ETSI lower band)
- 1200 MHz — 5925–7125 (FCC, full band)
- Channel widthone of 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz, 320 MHz (Wi-Fi 7)
- 160 MHz
- Low-power indoor (LPI) rather than AFC standard power
- Yes
- 6 GHz radios in the coverage areaaccepts 1–1,000 radios
- 30 radios
- Client receiver sensitivityaccepts -95–-50 dBm
- -75 dBm
Results
- Non-Overlapping Channels
- 7
- Permitted AP EIRP
- 27.0 dBm
- Free-Space Cell Radius
- 465 m
- Radios Sharing Each Channel
- 4.29
- Link Budget
- 102.0 dB
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 26 GHz Wi-Fi
- 3Non-Overlapping Channels= 7
- 4Permitted AP EIRP= 27.0 dBm
- 5Free-Space Cell Radius= 465 m
- 6Radios Sharing Each Channel= 4.29
- 7Link Budget= 102.0 dB
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is 6 GHz Wi-Fi calculated?
channels = spectrum ÷ width; EIRP = min(cap, PSD limit + 10·log10(width)); radius solves 20·log10(d_km) + 20·log10(6500) + 32.44 = EIRP − sensitivity. 6 GHz power is regulated as a power spectral density, so a wider channel is allowed more total EIRP up to a fixed ceiling. Inverting the free-space path loss equation at 6.5 GHz turns that EIRP and the client's sensitivity into a line-of-sight cell radius.
Why does 6 GHz Wi-Fi matter?
6 GHz is the first Wi-Fi band with enough spectrum for genuine one-AP-per-channel reuse, but LPI power limits mean cells are smaller than the 5 GHz ones they replace, so AP counts go up.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Available 6 GHz spectrum, Channel width, Low-power indoor (LPI) rather than AFC standard power, 6 GHz radios in the coverage area, Client receiver sensitivity. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.