CVSA Urges FCC to Reserve Airwaves for V2X Technologies

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance is pushing for the Federal Communications Commission to reserve the spectrum required for "vehicle-to-everything" technology.

V2X, which encompasses vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P), and vehicle-to-enforcement (V2E) communications, uses a spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band that is currently reserved for transportation safety communications. Among the technologies using this spectrum are connected-vehicle technologies, including some truck platooning systems.

Currently, the FCC is considering giving away the majority of these airwaves to the wifi industry. CVSA and others, including the American Trucking Associations, say this would not leave enough spectrum for V2X technologies and would likely result in significant interference for V2X technologies operating in the remaining spectrum.

CVSA, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, the U.S. Department of Transportation, every state department of transportation, and road safety and public safety advocates are currently uniting to oppose the FCC’s proposal to give away most of the 5.9 GHz “safety band” spectrum, according to CVSA.

“Each year, far too many lives are lost in traffic crashes on U.S. roadways,” said CVSA Executive Director Collin Mooney. “Many of these lives could be saved through the use of safety technologies, such as connected vehicle technologies. We should fully deploy V2X technologies to significantly reduce traffic deaths and injuries in our communities.”

V2X technology allows instantaneous communication between road users, alerting drivers to potential threats, obstacles and vulnerable road users, among a number of other uses.