State DOT C-V2X Waiver Requests Supported in Initial Comments

State departments of transportation in Florida, Georgia and Maryland, seeking waivers to launch cellular vehicle-to-everything operations in the 5.9 GHz band, got broad support in comments posted at the FCC by Tuesday. The applications came after a broader waiver request was filed late last year. Several comments said the waivers are important to U.S. competitiveness. Industry observers expect relatively quick action addressing the waivers (see 2209010047). Comments were due Monday in docket 19-138.

Approval “will allow the state DOTs to deploy [intelligent transportation system] safety technology to help address a growing roadway fatality crisis in the United States,” said the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. The waivers should make clear that the departments can “use the entirety” of the 30 MHz set aside for C-V2X, the alliance said: “Given that C-V2X operators now have less than half of the 75 megahertz originally allocated for ITS, it is critical that automotive safety applications can operate without the threat of harmful interference.” ITS America urged the FCC to approve all waiver requests to launch C-V2X in the band.

“The only commercial (non-experimental) path currently available to parties that wish to deploy C-V2X technology lies in the waiver process,” ITS America said: “Grant of waivers that encourage expedited deployment of C-V2X in the upper 30 MHz will serve the public interest.” Approving the waivers won’t pose harm to existing dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) systems, the group said. “Unsurprisingly, many of the same parties that led the deployment of DSRC technology are now leading the development and deployment efforts for CV2X technologies,” it said.

“Transportation stakeholders of all stripes -- federal safety regulators, congressional transportation leaders, state and local road authorities, global automakers and equipment manufacturers, and national transportation and safety associations -- strongly and unequivocally support a grant of the pending C-V2X waiver requests,” the 5G Automotive Association said. “As other countries modernize their regulations to facilitate widespread C-V2X deployment, waivers will bolster U.S. competitiveness and leadership in this technology,” the group said: As infrastructure spending rolls out, “waiver grants will enable stakeholders to maximize the impact of new funding opportunities and accelerate the delivery of C-V2X applications to the traveling public.”

OmniAir noted that 10 other C-V2X waiver requests are also pending at the FCC and said all should be approved. The FCC should also issue “the final C-V2X technical and services rules, which will provide much-needed regulatory certainty to deploy CV2X nationally,” said OmniAir, which offers third-party testing and certification for C-V2X gear.

“V2X is ramping up in China and Europe,” said Autotalks, which makes V2X chipsets. “Sadly, the absence of a clear rule defining C-V2X operation in the 30 MHz band is blocking deployment in the US,” the company said: “The anomaly is amplified when remembering that American carmakers are deploying V2X outside the US.”