Wi-Fi Coalition, Commissioners Support Fresh Look at 5.9 GHz Band

An NCTA-led coalition said the FCC should take a fresh look at the 5.9 GHz band sought for Wi-Fi. The FCC has been looking at sharing the band between Wi-Fi and dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) since 2013 (see 1301160063). With the agency considering shared use of the 6 GHz band in an NPRM set for a vote next week, coalition members said a new look at 5.9 GHz makes sense.

Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel supports "efforts to facilitate safe, unlicensed access to the 5.9 GHz band,” she said. “In the nearly twenty years since the FCC allocated this spectrum, autonomous and connected vehicles have largely moved beyond dedicated short-range communications technology to newer, market-driven alternatives. It is time to take a fresh look at this band to allow a broader range of uses. ... We can support automobile safety, increase spectrum for Wi-Fi.”

“It is pure folly to believe that DSRC will ever work as envisioned, as time and technology advancements elsewhere have undermined previous use cases,” said Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. “As NCTA correctly seeks in today’s ex parte letter, the Commission should quickly reexamine the 5.9 GHz band for repurposing. Once concluded, I am confident that at least 45 megahertz can be reallocated for unlicensed services without jeopardizing automobile safety.”

“As the FCC works to open the C-band at 6 GHz for unlicensed sharing, the 5.9 GHz band could be a roadblock in the middle of a potential Wi-Fi superhighway that can help the U.S. win the race to 5G,” said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America, on a Tuesday call with reporters.

“It may be the right time to say, is this spectrum still the right home for automotive communications,’” said NCTA Associate General Counsel Danielle Pineres. “What can we be doing to put this 75 MHz to better use? Let’s have a conversation. … We simply can’t afford to let that 75 MHz lie fallow any longer.” It's “frankly silly” that 75 MHz of spectrum goes unused, said Bartlett Cleland of Madery Bridge Associates, also on the call. “It’s very poor public policy,”

The auto industry is further from widespread deployment of DSRC than it was five years ago, Calabrese said. Without a federal mandate, automakers won’t put DSRC equipment in new vehicles at an average cost of $300-$400 per radio, Calabrese said. The Department of Transportation acknowledged fewer than one in 10,000 U.S. autos is equipped with DSRC he said. “No other mid-band spectrum is more underutilized,” he said. “When we’re asking the Defense Department and other incumbents to share spectrum, this is a very important point.”

A recent DOT report on automated transportation says there won’t be a mandate for DSRC under President Donald Trump, Pineres said.

Representatives of the 5G Automotive Association, which advocates cellular vehicle-to-everything technology (C-V2X) as an alternative to DSRC, didn’t comment. “We would certainly welcome a dialogue with them,” Pineres said. The FCC would have to reallocate the band to allow for C-V2X, she said. “Although they are testing their technology, it can’t move forward either without a rulemaking by the commission,” Calabrese said of the C-V2X coalition.

“The need for more Wi-Fi spectrum, the failure of DSRC, the development of other technologies that wish to access 5.9 GHz spectrum, and changes in the adjacent-band spectrum environment all strongly support a fresh, holistic proposal,” NCTA filed Tuesday in FCC docket 13-49. DOT “has shifted focus from DSRC to technology-neutral standards (apparently recognizing that portions of the auto industry see greater value in alternative vehicle safety technologies).”

“Without the 5.9 GHz band, we lose many of the life-saving benefits of connected vehicles,” Shailen Bhatt, president of ITS America, told us. DOT “just affirmed the importance of the spectrum band in its new automated vehicle policy by noting it would improve safety and enhance the benefits of vehicle automation.” General Motors and Toyota say they are moving toward DSRC (see 1807250024).

“Global Automakers remains committed to preserving the 5.9 GHz auto safety spectrum for lifesaving V2X communications,” a spokesperson said. “The FCC should not consider any action that would endanger the deployment of this lifesaving technology. Opening the spectrum to unlicensed Wi-Fi should not be considered without safeguards to prevent harmful interference with critical vehicle-to-vehicle safety messages.” The auto industry is making “significant investments today to deploy this technology that will improve safety, mobility, and efficiency and is foundational to achieving the full benefits of automated vehicles,” the group said.