Auto Industry's New 5.9 GHz Offer Doesn't Impress O'Rielly

“Advocates for this proposal far underestimate the resolve of this commission to reallocate a good portion of 5.9 GHz for unlicensed services,” Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told us Tuesday: “They also suffer from 20 years of empty promises and missed opportunities. A significant and appropriate compromise is already on the table, which splits the band and reserves a portion for C-V2X and potentially for residual DSRC. The FCC will hopefully go to order on Chairman [Ajit] Pai’s proposal later this summer.“

The alliance’s plan is the latest example of why it's critical the FCC “preserve the entire 5.9 GHz band for transportation safety critical technologies,” ITS America said. “We cannot wait another 20 years to put these unused airwaves to work and it's concerning that some are continuing to drag their feet,” a WifiForward spokesperson emailed.

The proposal is being filed at the FCC and sent to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, the alliance said. “The industry now has a firm plan for how the entire band will be used.” C-V2X would have exclusive use in the band’s upper 20 MHz, DSRC the lower 20 and the remaining 30 would be made available “on a priority basis” to next-generation DSRC and advanced C-V2X, said a news release. “After five years, a single technology will be selected to use the 5.9 GHz band.” Over 10 years, technology that doesn’t prevail would be phased out, the group said. ITSA didn't comment further.

“The auto folks aren't really saying anything new,” Harold Feld, Public Knowledge senior vice president, told us: “They are actually committing to less than they were committing to before. The notion that they only plan to deploy if they get more spectrum runs counter to everything they have said in the past about their eagerness to deploy.” Feld said the “dirty truth” is they want the full 75 MHz “to do commercial applications as well as anti-collision applications. All the evidence shows that they can do anti-collision applications just fine on the top 30 MHz.”

Replies

Groups and companies on both sides made closing arguments. Replies posted Monday and Tuesday in docket 19-138.

Former FCC Chief Technologist Jon Peha, professor at Carnegie Mellon University, urged the FCC to pause. The NPRM “proclaims that it ‘believe[s] that ITS [intelligent transportation system] users can be accommodated in a significantly smaller spectrum space considering the recent and anticipated future technological developments,’” Peha said: “No analysis or other form of evidence is presented to support this belief.” “It should be possible to simultaneously prevent crashes on our roads, provide enough spectrum for Wi-Fi, and prepare the U.S. to lead the way in autonomous vehicles, but only if government agencies do the hard work,” Peha told us: “That hasn't happened.”

NTCA asked the FCC to act. “American’s reliance on and the need for high-speed fixed broadband connections paired with Wi-Fi that is capable of ‘keeping up’ has never been more evident as it has been in the response to COVID-19,” the group said: “Wide-spread distance learning and telecommuting has demonstrated the critical and complementary role wireline networks and Wi-Fi play.”

Consumer Reports urged caution. “Expanding consumer access to the internet through access to affordable WiFi is important, but that goal must come after auto safety needs are appropriately addressed,” the group said. “There is widespread dissent on the FCC’s proposal.”

“The lifesaving and collision-avoidance potential of the reserved 5.9 GHz dedicated spectrum, when combined with currently available and emerging V2X communications technology, as amply demonstrated by government funded research and in the responses to the FCC reallocation proposal, is indisputable,” the Center for Auto Safety said. Of the 150 comments, “more than 85 percent opposed the FCC’s proposal and supported preserving the entire band for V2X,” the center said.

Nokia said all 75 MHz should be allocated for intelligent transportation. “C-V2X is the most promising ITS technology to significantly improve the safety of roadways in the United States, and ready for immediate deployment,” Nokia said. The record shows widespread support, including from Fiat Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, the gearmaker said. “Commenters in this docket overwhelmingly oppose the reallocation … because Wi-Fi is not its best and most efficient use,” AT&T wrote.

Public interest groups sought action, citing “strong and diverse support” for reallocation. Combing the 45 MHz with other spectrum just below would “create the first and only unencumbered, contiguous channel of 160 MHz available for use at standard power,” said New America’s Open Technology Institute, the American Library Association, Benton Foundation, Next Century Cities and Public Knowledge.

“The proposals being considered by the FCC will expand the use of this band to its fullest potential, including allowing 45 MHz of spectrum to be used for unlicensed purposes such as Wi-Fi,” Citizens Against Government Waste said. The auto industry complains about the interference threat, but the 5.9 GHz band is already surrounded by other bands used for Wi-Fi, CAGW said: “Perhaps it would be more appropriate to move these services to the 4.9 GHz band, as others have suggested, or the 77 GHz band, which are already being used for public safety and automotive radar applications.”