The Federal Communications Commission has agreed to make radio frequencies available for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) operations.
The FCC allocated a range of 5850-5925 megahertz for dedicated short-range communications between vehicles and electronic systems on the roadside, such as at toll booths or intersections.
"This decision will enable broader, innovative uses of telecommunications technology and result in enhanced safety and efficiency of our nation's surface transportation system," says U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary Mortimer L. Downey.
These radio frequencies will support intelligent transportation systems activities such as intersection collision avoidance; transit or emergency vehicle signal priority, which allows an ambulance to command a green light approaching an intersection; electronic parking payments; and commercial vehicle clearance and safety inspections that can be done at highway speeds instead of requiring trucks to pull off the road.
"Today's decision is one more building block as we work toward our goal of integrated ITS deployment this decade in 75 cities and 25 states," said Federal Highway Administrator Kenneth R. Wykle. "Already, deployment of different ITS solutions across the nation have demonstrated between 15 and 50% reductions in crashes."
The FCC allocation culminates many years of work initiated by the department's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which partnered with ITS America in this initiative. ITS America petitioned the FCC for radio spectrum for this purpose.