FCC Acted Reasonably on 5.9 GHz: Intervenors to DC Circuit

The FCC acted reasonably and within its responsibilities to ensure the best use of spectrum in dividing 5.9 GHz, with 45 MHz for Wi-Fi and 30 MHz for cellular vehicle-to-everything technology, industry and public service intervenors told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. ITS America and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials want the court to overturn the order (see 2106020076). “Unhappy” that the FCC “has decreased their spectrum bankroll, Appellants and Intervenors are trying to chase their losses to the Court,” said Public Knowledge and the Open Technology Institute at New America, posted Wednesday night in docket 21-1130. “But the Court cannot offer their desired relief because the FCC properly determined that the public interest called for reallocating our nation’s limited spectrum resource.” The FCC record “demonstrated that 30 megahertz is more than sufficient to deliver the public safety benefits promised” by intelligent transportation systems, they said. “Petitioners posit a fragmented scheme of spectrum-management authority that opens the door to conflicting agency judgments,” said CTIA: “The FCC’s spectrum-allocation decisions frequently touch on areas regulated by other agencies -- but that does not deprive the FCC of its preeminence in spectrum management.” Petitioners want “this Court to second-guess the FCC,” said NCTA and the Wi-Fi Alliance. “The Commission relied on its technical expertise, predictive judgment, and an extensive record to conclude that” changes to the band “will both improve wireless broadband and increase the likelihood that the automotive industry will finally deliver long-promised safety applications.” The agency “adopted conservative technical rules governing indoor operation of unlicensed devices in the lower 45 megahertz of the band to avoid any significant risk of interference between those devices and automotive-safety applications in the upper 30 megahertz,” the groups said. The 5G Automotive Association, which promotes C-V2X, said the order will “materially advance vehicular safety.”