In November 2002, the 5 GHz band was released for private use in Germany, and opened up the path for significantly faster WLAN connections according to the IEEE 802.11a standard, which had already been available for a while. The wider use of 5 GHz WLANs was, however, restricted by its exclusive use in closed spaces and the relatively low transmission power.
With the 802.11h enhancement of September 2003, the private use of the 5 GHz band was finally possible even outside closed spaces. To protect military applications in the 5 GHz band, the DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection) and TPC (Transmission Power Control) procedures were prescribed. However, when using DFS and TPC with a maximum of 1000 mW (or 4000 mW for commercial network operators in compliance with "Broadband Fixed Wireless Access" regulations), much higher transmission powers can be operated than allowed by previous standards.