Qualcomm Hopes FCC Will Act Soon on C-V2X in 5.9 GHz Band Rules

Qualcomm remains hopeful the FCC will approve final rules this year for cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) in the 5.9 GHz band, but the technology is moving forward in the interim, with the agency approving more than 50 waivers already, John Kuzin, Qualcomm vice president-spectrum policy and regulatory counsel, said Wednesday during a Broadband Breakfast webinar. Qualcomm is a longtime proponent of the technology (see 1801220024).

C-V2X will come in two forms -- network-based connections and direct connections between vehicles and between vehicles and infrastructure, Kuzin noted. “One of the beauties of this technology … is you don’t require a network connection in order for cars to talk to one another,” he said: “It works everywhere that cars would go” including rural areas and inside garages, where there’s no connectivity. Direct connections are also “much quicker” than network-based connections, he said.

C-V2X will be used for traffic-light preemption to clear intersections for ambulances and fire trucks, alerts that a school bus is stopped ahead and merging traffic warnings, Kuzin said. “This technology will play very well with autonomous vehicles.”

The FCC approved the first C-V2X waivers a year ago, allowing early deployments (see 2304240066), with others following (see 2404180050).

When people hear smart city they think of The Jetsons, and the futuristic technologies featured in that TV cartoon series, said India Herdman, CTA senior manager-policy affairs. “We’re seeing” those technologies “play out in real time right now,” she said. The number of transportation companies that feature technology at CES each January is “completely astounding.”

When people will travel in autonomous drones -- flying cars -- remains to be seen, with issues to be worked through including how they will communicate “outside the terrestrial realm,” Herdman said.

Kuzin noted that Qualcomm has been active in the FCC proceeding on using the 5030-5091 MHz band for drones (see 2405150014). Qualcomm wants part of the band to allow for “an aerial version of C-V2X,” he said. A flying car would use the 5.9 GHz band on the ground or for takeoff and landing, he said. It would use the drone spectrum while in the air, he said. The 5.9 GHz band was designed for road use “and it’s important to have a separate spectrum band for aerial vehicles,” he said. Flying cars will need radios that communicate across the bands, he said.

Smart transportation depends on 5G and other wireless broadband and real-time data, Herdman said. So far, Asia has smart cities that are more advanced than in the U.S., she said. “We should also be talking about the competitive nature of adopting these technologies for the U.S. economy,” she said. Cloud computing is important because of the need to process the huge amount of data that will be collected, she said.

Autonomous vehicle makers are using two different technologies in advanced driver assistance systems, Herdman said. Tesla employs a camera-based system, while all others rely on lidar, she said.

Safety must be the top concern in transportation, said David Pickeral, co-founder of Sheeva.AI, a connected vehicle company. Industry needs a system that allows the flow of data for autonomous and other vehicles, he said. The ability for vehicles to exchange information will require a “low-latency, high-throughput environment, so they can make instantaneous decisions,” he said. That will require a lot of clear spectrum with no risk of interference, he said. Spectrum is “the anchor for everything,” he added.

Kuzin said C-V2X technology will be available for after-market installation in existing vehicles, but it’s preferable that it be installed in all new vehicles. These on-board units will communicate with roadside systems installed on cell towers but more commonly on light poles, he said. Unlike lidar and other sensors, C-V2X operates line of sight and non-line of sight, he said. “Think of a car exiting a garage. You cannot see who’s on the sidewalk." But with C-V2X "you can effectively see around corners.”