Tech Companies, Automotive Industry Disagree on Wi-Fi in 5.9 GHz Band

Before opening the 5.850-5.925 GHz band for Wi-Fi, as proposed by the FCC in February, the commission should first assemble an advisory panel to look at how unlicensed use of the spectrum will affect dedicated short range communications (DSRC) technologies, said the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in reply comments filed at the FCC. The Intelligent Transportation Society of America said in its comments that the Department of Transportation and original equipment manufacturers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to make crash-avoidance technologies a reality.

The 5 GHz order poses a dilemma for the FCC, industry officials said last week. While the FCC would like to get more spectrum online for Wi-Fi, the Department of Transportation and others have raised real concerns about interference to safety technologies expected to be included in many vehicles on the road. Former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski proposed making more spectrum available for unlicensed use at January’s CES. “They're trying to figure out how much additional spectrum in the 5 GHz band they can make available, but I think they feel like it’s much more complicated than they made it seem when the FCC put out the NPRM,” said a former FCC spectrum official.

On Thursday, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai urged commissioners to release a decision on the 5 GHz band by the end of the year, though he acknowledged some problems remain (CD July 26 p2). Industry officials told us there have been some early discussions between the automotive industry and Wi-Fi advocates about possible solutions that would accommodate both sides.

Groups raising concerns about protecting DSRC got indirect support last week from another federal agency. The National Transportation Safety Board emphasized the importance of crash avoidance technologies, in a report on a fatal 2012 school bus accident near Chesterfield, N.J. (http://on-msn.com/1c8J4NH). “Effective countermeasures are needed to assist in preventing intersection crashes -- for example, systems such as connected vehicle technology could have provided an active warning to the school bus driver of the approaching truck as he began to cross the intersection,” NTSB said in its report.

"AASHTO believes that the Commission’s action was premature unless the purpose of the action was intended to open a dialogue for future topics,” the group said (http://bit.ly/12QkYAs). AASHTO called for an advisory panel “comprised of the appropriate stakeholders to identify the best candidate sharing scenarios.” The panel should include the makers of unlicensed devices, the automotive industry and appropriate public sector agencies, AASHTO suggested.

"The Comments clearly establish that DSRC-based Connected Vehicle technologies will significantly improve motor vehicle traffic safety, are being deployed and will be deployed nationally,” ITS America said in its reply comments (http://bit.ly/169lVZ0). “DSRC-based deployments are taking place throughout the United States involving: urban applications, traffic management, commercial vehicles, ‘open road’ electronic tolling, emergency vehicles and taxi management. U.S. DOT and other Commenters describe the current Safety Pilot Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan involving some 3000 vehicles testing DSRC applications and technologies in real-world conditions."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said DSRC systems “have the potential to address up to 80 percent of non-impaired light-vehicle accidents, representing a huge step forward in automotive safety,” said the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers in joint reply comments (http://bit.ly/174CHWh). The Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot Program, a year-long, “large-scale, real world assessment,” is slated to wrap up in August, the automotive industry associations said. “The results of this testing will be key inputs into NHTSA’s upcoming decision this year regarding whether to require automobile manufacturers to include DSRC devices in all new light vehicles,” the groups said. “In 2014, NHTSA will consider mandating DSRC in all new heavy vehicles."

The automotive industry groups said DSRC has been a long time coming. “Research and development of DSRC technologies began decades ago, and federal support for DSRC systems began in 1991,” they said. “Since then, Congress has repeatedly authorized hundreds of millions of dollars for DSRC research and testing. Indeed, the most recently enacted highway reauthorization provides $200 million for DSRC in fiscal years 2012 and 2013, and directs the USDOT to carry out operational tests on the technology. Alongside these federal efforts, the automobile industry has contributed significant financial and human resources to developing DSRC in reliance on the continued viability of a spectral environment that makes latency-sensitive DSRC applications possible."

But Wi-Fi proponents continue to push the FCC to reallocate the spectrum on a secondary basis for unlicensed use. “PCIA commends the Commission on its action to facilitate unlicensed use in the 5 GHz band because Wi-Fi and other unlicensed technologies, which provide traffic ‘offloading’ from wireless service providers’ cellular networks, are among the promising solutions to the looming data crunch,” the group said (http://bit.ly/19n3lzD). “Development of comprehensive rules governing unlicensed spectrum use in the 5 GHz band is an important step toward meeting consumer demand and alleviating network congestion on cellular data networks."

"The record before the Commission establishes that Wi-Fi, one of the great American technology success stories, is straining under the weight of the recent exponential growth in demand and soon will be unable to meet the projected needs of the American public,” Cisco said (http://bit.ly/12q81ma). NCTA also urged action (http://bit.ly/14RNFCJ): “The record in this proceeding overwhelmingly confirms the benefits that innovative unlicensed broadband services such as Wi-Fi provide to consumers and the U.S. economy.”