Car manufacturers want 5.9 GHz certainty

As the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mulls whether to allow Wi-Fi and connected-vehicle applications to share the 5.9 GHz band, the Association of Global Automakers (AGM) has called for more certainty for its members.

In a filing sent to the FCC at the beginning of this week, the AGM called for an “end [to] regulatory uncertainty regarding the availability of the full 5.9 GHz Dedicated Short Range Communications”.

“Consistent with the Administration’s plans for improving auto safety, which are set forth in the recently released Federal Automated Vehicle Policy (‘AV Policy’) and White House statement on the safe deployment of automated vehicles, the Commission should confirm the availability of the full Safety Spectrum allocation for existing and planned life-saving DSRC deployments,” the AGM filing said.

“The Obama Administration has released its vision for the future of automotive safety, and that vision depends on the continued availability of the Safety Spectrum for DSRC. As the Administration AV Policy recognizes, automated vehicles can provide transformative benefits in auto safety… In fact, the AV policy emphasizes the role of vehicle-to-vehicle (‘V2V’) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (‘V2I’) systems in improving system performance in highly automated vehicles (‘HAVs’) and reducing the number and severity of crashes.

“Considerable strides have been made in deploying DSRC technology under the existing 5.9 GHz channel plan… Life-saving DSRC technologies are being deployed, and more will be deployed in the near future. … Accordingly, the Commission should act expeditiously to confirm the availability of the full Safety Spectrum allocation for DSRC consistent with the Administration’s roadmap for autonomous vehicle development to increase the safety of America’s roadways.”

Image courtesy Toyota.