Mobile Operators Pan EC Spectrum Choice for Connected Cars

The European Commission's choice of "outdated" Wi-Fi technology (802.11p) for connected vehicles undercuts Europe's 5G action plan for all “major terrestrial transport paths [to] have uninterrupted 5G coverage by 2025,” GSMA Europe said Wednesday. Publication of new cooperative intelligent transport systems rules will be followed by a two-month period during which the European Parliament and Council can oppose enactment, the EC said. As of this year, vehicles, traffic signs and motorways will be equipped with technology to send standardized messages to all nearby traffic participants, it said. The specifications set the minimum legal requirements for interoperability between cooperative systems, allowing all equipped stations to exchange messages with each other securely in an open network. But GSMA said the legislation prioritizes communications in the 5855-5925 MHz band, which fails to account for more recent technological innovation. It urged lawmakers and governments to nix the proposal and encourage deployment of more advanced systems such as cellular to vehicle-to-everything.