FCC move on spectrum could impede future V2V rollout
The automotive industry, which is avidly testing vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) safety technologies, is trying to fight off efforts by other technology sectors to bite off a piece of the airwave spectrum automotive suppliers plan to use in the near future for these V2V safety technologies, such as advanced collision warning.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the battleground. It has proposed allowing an array of wireless spectrum and product suppliers to use 25 megahertz (MHz) of spectrum, which borders on the bottom edge of the 5.85-5.925 GHz band reserved for what are called Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) service. Part of that band is dedicated for V2V transmissions.
The FCC is under pressure from Congress and the Obama administration to expand broadband services for smart phones, tablets, net-books and laptops, which will be offering higher data throughput in the 5 GHz bands by using wider radiofrequency (RF) bandwidths, more data streams, and high-density signal modulation techniques. So those products and their wireless providers need additional spectrum.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers told the FCC in joint comments: "The Commission’s proposal to allow U-NII devices to operate in the 5.9 GHz and adjacent bands threatens to undermine over a decade of DSRC development, waste hundreds of millions of dollars of public and private investment, and diminish safety improvements on America’s roadways." Giving Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) devices the extra 25 MHz would cause interference for the DSRC services expected to be rolled out over the next few years.
Companies such as Qualcomm, Microsoft and Google are anxious to bump up against the DSRC band. Qualcomm Atheros, which coincidentally is developing DSRC devices, is at the same time pushing for the additional 25 MHz for the sake of the broadband microchips it sells. The extra 25 MHz would allow routers and other wireless devices to download data faster. Companies such as Microsoft and Google with gaming interests and broadband service providers such as Comcast and Verizon are pushing the FCC hard to finalize the spectrum expansion.
The National Highway Safety and Traffic Administration (NHTSA) is deciding whether to require some V2V technologies in new cars. If it does so, things like collision avoidance systems would operate in 5.85-5.925 GHz band. But it would take years for car manufacturers to incorporate those technologies in cars, and for local state and highway departments to establish the infrastructure necessary to make V2V technologies work. That is why NHTSA said that a near-term objective might be the use of aftermarket beacons in existing autos. It is not clear how NHTSA could further that objective. But if it moved forward, those beacons would also use the 5.85-5.925 GHz band.
Both President Obama and Congress have given the FCC marching orders, the president in a June 2010 Executive Memorandum that "encouraged" the commission to make available a total of 500 megahertz for commercial mobile and fixed wireless broadband use by the year 2020. The Spectrum Act included in the 2012 Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act required the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to report on the impact of an expansion of U-NII devices into the 5.85-5.925 GHz band. The NTIA report called the “NTIA 5 GHz Report” was issued on January 25, 2013.
Three months later, the FCC proposed giving U-NII devices the extra 25 MHz. But it has not been able to move forward very quickly because of the absence of a chairman. Former chief Julius Genachowski left the FCC in May. President Obama has nominated Tom Wheeler as the new chairman, but Republican Senator Ted Cruz (TX) has blocked the nomination from coming to the Senate floor for a vote.
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