Page 5 - Autonomous Vehicle Engineering (January 2020)

The Navigator

Automakers at Fault if V2X Spectrum is Lost

After years of heavy lobbying from the spectrum, it’s no wonder that other groups have
cable and wireless industry, the U.S. Federal been pushing the FCC to release this bandwidth.
Communications Commission (FCC) is on the Given FCC chairman Ajit Pai’s demonstrated
verge of reallocating most of the spectrum that anti-regulatory stance on issues such as internet
had been set aside for intelligent transportation neutrality and prison inmate telephone-calling
systems including vehicle-to-everything (V2X) costs, it’s no surprise that he would be inclined to
communications. While various automakers have undermine any potential rules around transporta-
been vocal in their support of V2X, the industry as a tion safety. While NHTSA still officially supports
whole has only itself to blame for this development. maintaining the 5.9-GHz spectrum for ITS applica- Sam Abuelsamid
The FCC first allocated 75 MHz of spectrum in tions, it too has done nothing to move forward with Senior Analyst
the 5.9-GHz band for ITS (intelligent transporta- enacting the proposed V2V mandate. Navigant Research
tion systems) use 20 years ago. But If the automakers claiming to Sam@
precious little has been done with The auto be so supportive of V2X had moved abuelsamid.com
that spectrum since then, as other ahead with broader deployments
uses of wireless technology have industry had over the last several years, there could
been gobbling up the airwaves. For 20 years to potentially be millions of vehicles
years, many automakers, suppliers do something on the road today sharing basic
and regulators worked to develop safety messages and other informa-
standards for V2X communications with the 5.9 tion. However, having done almost
and large-scale pilot programs GHz spectrum nothing, most of that spectrum
continue to operate in a number of is set to be handed over to cable
cities including Ann Arbor, Mich., and it was given companies for unlicensed WiFi. Of
Tampa, Fla. - but it sat on the remaining 30 MHz of spectrum,
Most of those efforts revolved 20 MHz of it would go to cellular-V2X,
around WiFi-based dedicated short- its hands. with the last 10 MHz possibly retained
range communications (DSRC). The for DSRC or also assigned to C-V2X.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration In the announcement of the proposed
(NHTSA) published a proposal to mandate DSRC spectrum revisions, Pai called DSRC V2X a “promise
vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications in the unfulfilled” – and he is right to the extent that it has
waning days of the Obama administration. While largely gone uncommercialized. However, despite
GM, Toyota and Honda, among others, have all the successes of pilot programs, the industry has
expressed their support for V2X communications, largely failed to move forward with commercial-
there has been almost no concrete action beyond ization in the U.S. In Europe however, despite a
those pilot tests. DSRC mandate getting shelved at the last minute
To date, the only automaker to commercially earlier this year, Volkswagen has moved ahead and
deploy V2V in the U.S. market is GM on the 2017- launched the technology as standard on the 2020
2019 Cadillac CTS, of which fewer than 50,000 Golf with plans to add it to other models as well.
were sold. Toyota launched DSRC on some Japan The auto industry had 20 years to do some-
market models in 2015 but has not brought the thing with the 5.9 GHz spectrum it was given but
technology to the U.S. With so little use of this it sat on its hands. It now seems likely to lose it. ■

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