NCTA Wants FCC Decision on Wi-Fi in 5.9 GHz Band as Toyota Meets Pai

NCTA, meeting Chief of Staff Matthew Berry, urged the FCC act on opening the 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed use. NCTA sees the band as ideal for Wi-Fi, it said in docket 13-49. “This band is located adjacent to the existing U-NII-3 band, would enable the use of additional 160 MHz channels needed to support Gigabit Wi-Fi, and incumbent operations are limited to just a few pilot deployments,” NCTA said: “Changes in the automotive technology market and in the adjacent spectrum environment ... suggest that the Commission should renew its efforts in the band.” The band has been a target of Wi-Fi advocates and an FCC focus since 2013 (see 1305310035). Toyota said it met Chairman Ajit Pai to argue for preserving the band for dedicated short-range communications. The automaker has a "strong commitment to automotive safety, citing its industry leadership in making Automatic Emergency Braking and other active safety features standard on Toyota and Lexus vehicles in the United States,” Toyota said. “By helping vehicles identify potential hazards that are beyond the range or capability of sensor technology, DSRC will further help Toyota achieve its goal of reducing crashes.”