Vehicle Safety Communications Landscape Clarifies with Controversial FCC Ruling

The vehicle-to-everything communications-technology debate is “solved” by federal regulators - and cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) appears to be the winner.

After years of transportation-industry tussle over competing technologies to enable communications between vehicles and a “connected” environment, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has decided the matter. On Nov.18, 2020, the FCC ruled it will allow a portion of the 5.9-GHz “Safety Spectrum” long reserved for the transportation sector to be allocated to unlicensed private usage such as Wi-Fi internet connectivity. The ruling effectively eliminates the future for Wi-Fi-based Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) and locks in the advancing alternative, cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X).

Despite many experts' opinion that the decision to now limit transportation communications to just the upper 30 MHz of the 75-MHz spread within the 5.9-GHz (5.850-5.925 GHz) Safety Spectrum has not been sufficiently researched, the FCC said in a statement that the ruling will enhance automotive safety. Many are concerned that interference from other radio signals now permitted to be close to the Safety Spectrum may adversely affect the bandwidth's performance and reliability.