WRAN uses wireless signals in the range of 400 to 700Mhz by enabling a greater range. A customer premise equipment (CPE) device for WRAN can connect to an ISP (Internet service provider) network at ranges over 33 kilometers and as far as 100 km in exceptional cases.
It is well suited for rural use where both broadband service and interfering radio frequencies are less common. This WRAN may make impacts on the use of more expensive and less effective ways of connecting to the Internet, such as mobile data and satellite Internet.
The unused spectrum, known as white space, was left vacant by the discontinuation of analog broadcast television. The underused frequencies (470-710Mhz) previously reserved for TV signals were made available for unlicensed use by a decision of the FCC in September 2010. The FCC’s decision made the 54 to 862 MHz range available for residential and business networking and the IEEE 802.11af and 802.22 working groups developed White Space Wi-Fi and WRAN (respectively) to operate in that range. White Space Wi-Fi, also known as White-Fi, is expected to make mobile data more affordable.