FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 28, 2018
OmniAir Consortium Urges the FCC to Reserve the full 5.9 GHz Spectrum for V2X
Washington, D.C. – OmniAir Consortium®, the leading industry association promoting interoperability and certification for ITS, tolling, and Connected Vehicles, today filed comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Engineering Technology’s Phase I Test Report on spectrum sharing between Vehicle-to-Everything (“V2X”) and unlicensed devices.
OmniAir urges the Commission to preserve the availability of the full 5.9 GHz allocation and reserve its availability for transportation safety applications, regardless of the underlying wireless transmission technology.
Based on OmniAir’s review of the FCC’s Test Report, it is apparent that the limited scope of laboratory testing in Phase I is inadequate to determine that it is safe for these transportation safety applications to share the band with unlicensed devices.
“Regardless of the underlying wireless communication technology, whether DSRC, C-V2X or another, there must be a ’safe‘ home, one free from harmful interference, for these proven safety-of-life communications, said Jason M. Conley, Executive Director of OmniAir Consortium. “It is imperative that basic safety messages between vehicles, between vehicles and the roadside, and between vehicles and pedestrians, occur without interference.”
OmniAir, its partners, and other industry leaders have achieved significant milestones in the development and deployment of V2X communications technologies and services, including those technologies and services using DSRC for “trusted” communications. This progress has occurred despite the several years’ delay and uncertainty over the continued availability of the 5.9 GHz Band (5850-5925 MHz).
V2X technologies and services has made significant progress over the past five years reaching the state where an industry-driven certification program is established to accelerate deployments. DSRC is being deployed today in numbers that are already benefiting the traveling public. V2X technologies and services have already shown that they can provide safer and more efficient automotive travel. OmniAir urges the FCC to complete the planned Phase II and Phase III testing as soon as possible.
About OmniAir Consortium
OmniAir Consortium is the leading industry association promoting interoperability and certification for ITS, tolling, and Connected Vehicles. OmniAir’s membership includes public agencies, private companies, research institutions, and independent test laboratories. Learn more about OmniAir at www.omniair.org.