Super Wi-Fi is a term coined by the United States Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commission

The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

 (FCC) to describe a wireless network

Wireless network

Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is not connected by cables of any kind. It is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and enterprise installations avoid the costly process of introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various equipment...

ing proposal which the FCC plans to use for the creation of longer-distance wireless internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 connections.

Instead of using the 2.4GHz

Hertz

The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....

 radio frequency

Radio frequency

Radio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...

 of regular Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...

, the 'Super Wi-Fi' proposal uses the lower-frequency white spaces between television channel frequencies

Television channel frequencies

The following tables show the frequencies assigned to broadcast television channels in various regions of the world, along with the ITU letter designator for the system used. The frequencies shown are for the video and audio carriers. The channel itself occupies several megahertz of bandwidth....

. These lower frequencies allow the signal to travel further and penetrate walls better than the higher frequencies previously used. The FCC's plan is to allow those white space frequencies to be used for free, as happens with regular Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...

.

US Federal Communications Commission's approved the rules for "white spaces" on September 23, 2010.

In April 2011, Rice University

Rice University

William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...

, in partnership with the nonprofit organization Technology For All

Technology For All

Technology For All is a nonprofit organization based in Houston, Texas. Developed in 1997 by local entrepreneurs, Technology For All services community-based organizations with computer technology, training, and other digital incentives “to empower under-resourced communities through the tools of...

, installed the first residential deployment of Super Wi-Fi in east Houston. The network uses white spaces for backhaul and provides access to clients using 2.4GHz

Hertz

The hertz is the SI unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second of a periodic phenomenon. One of its most common uses is the description of the sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications....

 regular Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...

.