The Federal Communications Commission has opened licensing for the 5.9 GHz frequency band, paving the way for private sector deployment of dedicated short-range communications systems along U.S. roads and highways.

According to a press release from ABI Research, Oyster Bay, N.Y., any organization can now buy a nonexclusive license to erect towers in a defined geographical area, which could be as large as a whole U.S. state. Fees are expected to be a “relatively affordable.”
Transmitter towers must be registered with the FCC, and in cases of interference, law enforcement, public safety and general public would have priority. Within those constraints, business can make use of the frequency for their own purposes.
Prior to this FCC action, it was assumed that most of the infrastructure for any future such networks would be built by -- or at least paid for by -- the federal Department of Transportation. Now, however, it appears that private industry will be able to build its own.
What impact this may have on government-sponsored intelligent highway initiatives is not addressed in the ABI Research release, which concludes that the FCC ruling paves the way for construction of new wireless networks allowing real-time traffic updates to be beamed right into a vehicle's navigation system, universal automatic toll collection, streaming entertainment, intelligent safety systems, even interactive commerce.