NCTA Assails Auto Industry Plans for DSRC in 5.9 GHz Band

Obvious deficiencies with dedicated short range communications technology for vehicle-to-vehicle communications, married to the Department of Transportation's August downgrading of the DSRC mandate, shows why the FCC should maximize use of the 5.9 GHz band instead by unlicensed technologies, NCTA said in an FCC docket 13-49 filing posted Wednesday. The association said using the band for DSRC safety service is "an inefficient spectrum-warehousing effort," since it's unlikely most of the services and message types talked about by the Association of Global Automakers (AGA) will ever come to market, given lack of development of such services in recent years. It said assertions that six of the seven DSRC channels will be primarily for safety don't square with extensive commercial plans for DSRC. NCTA said the 5.9 GHz band isn't internationally harmonized for DSRC, and there are international indications of less interest in DSRC and more in connected vehicle technologies using LTE networks. It said automakers are divided on the efficacy of DSRC, and there are technologies like cellular-V2X capable of supporting vehicle safety in existing bands. AGA didn't comment. NCTA said DOT's downgraded its vehicle-to-vehicle communications proceeding status from "NPRM" to "undetermined." DOT didn't comment.