Leaders from the departments of transportation of every state, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia recently urged the Federal Communications Commission to continue improving transportation safety by reserving the 5.9 GHz wireless spectrum for transportation use.
“The loss of 36,750 lives last year on our nation’s highways and streets demands that we act boldly,” the officials said in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “To this end, connected vehicles utilizing Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication in the 5.9 GHz spectrum
will save lives by creating a seamless, cooperative environment that significantly improves the safety of our transportation system.”
There is no agreement between the transportation industry and state departments of transportation concerning when V2X applications will be broadly deployed. This should not be used as an excuse to open the 5.9 GHz spectrum for nontransportation safety purposes, the letter said. Instead, the transportation industry should agree on the best technology solution for deployment.
The letter acknowledged that automakers and device manufacturers will determine when technologies are deployed and their availability.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent to develop and deploy technologies in the 5.9 GHz spectrum.
The letter was also signed by the president and executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.