In recent weeks, we have been asked multiple times whether OmniAir favors the use of certain wireless communications technologies in transportation over others. We have also fielded questions as to whether OmniAir supports proposals by specific vendors regarding spectrum reallocation.
Why is OmniAir not actively involved in the lobbying “fight” to preserve spectrum used for RFID in electronic toll collection? Why does OmniAir not “advocate” for the merits of LTE-V2X vs. Network-V2X…or, for that matter, RFID tolling vs. V2X-based tolling?
The short answer is that OmniAir is, first and foremost, a certification organization. Our primary role is not one of advocacy but rather building trust by ensuring that those devices that are granted OmniAir Certification have been through rigorous testing against industry standards and consensus requirements. Moreover, OmniAir is technology neutral. We offer independent testing and certification for multiple wireless communication technologies used to enhance transportation safety, mobility, and efficiency.
Since its inception over 20 years ago, OmniAir Consortium has had as its mission “the promotion of interoperability and certification for ITS, tolling and connected vehicles.” We take this mission very seriously. Interoperability drives technology adoption, and leads to increased market choice of vendors, reduced deployment costs, and improved reliability.
OmniAir’s interoperability and conformance testing are key to ensuring different systems, devices, and software components work together seamlessly across multiple vendors and comply with industry standards.
OmniAir’s diverse and global membership represents a broad cross-section of the transportation, automotive, wireless communications, and test and measurement industries, working together with government and academia to help advance interoperability and deployment. With the world’s leading experts, our working groups develop consensus interpretations of industry standards, draft test specifications, and build test plans that form the basis of our testing and certification programs.
OmniAir’s third-party testing and certification programs for electronic toll collection equipment and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology provide assurance to deployers that OmniAir Certified devices conform to industry standards and meet interoperability, security, and performance requirements. In short, OmniAir Certification conveys trust.
Every day, tolling agencies, state DOTs, cities, and other deployers rely on OmniAir Certification in making procurement and deployment decisions. They recognize that the OmniAir Certified mark is one of trust.
This trust, however, is contingent on OmniAir Consortium’s neutrality. We observe strict neutrality in our development of test plans, in the evaluation of test results, and in awarding certification to vendors. OmniAir is also committed to technology neutrality. We certify RFID tolling tags and readers, DSRC-V2X radios, and C-V2X (PC5) radios and modules. We are in the early stages of developing a testing and certification program for network V2X (V2N2X). Should a new communications media of choice come along to displace the old, we would not hesitate to develop testing and certification programs for those as well.
OmniAir does not promote—or oppose—specific technologies. OmniAir does not engage in lobbying. We do not “hype” Plugfest testing results, nor will we overstate the collective progress industry is making in hopes of building the market. These activities, we believe, are inconsistent with the neutrality demanded of an independent, third-party testing and certification organization, such as OmniAir.
On the contrary, OmniAir focuses on the limited, but crucially important, mission of testing and certification. Certification communicates trust. This trust—more than any advocacy—will help to drive deployments, as transportation organizations come to trust that certified equipment works as intended. This, in turn, will help to pave the way to widespread adoption by end-users. In the case of connected vehicle safety technologies, this will result in more lives saved.
That vision is why OmniAir will—and must—maintain its position of strict neutrality and independence. This is why OmniAir will not play the role of an advocate. But, rather, we will continue to focus on our core mission of testing and certification.
Like an umpire, OmniAir will continue calling balls and strikes, without favoritism toward any one vendor, or toward any one technology. We will leave the advocacy to others. We will speak through our certification programs. We will convey trust.
Thank you to our many members around the world who contribute to this effort. Together, we will help to build a safer, smarter, and more connected transportation system of the future.
Jason M. Conley
Executive Director