5GAA Sees Broad Support for C-V2X Waiver; NCTA Says Most Want Broad NPRM
The 5G Automotive Association told the FCC there's broad support for its proposed waiver to deploy cellular vehicle-to-everything technology (C-V2X) in the upper 20 MHz of the 5.9 GHz band. Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel recently said they support instead a broad NPRM (see 1902140057), a stance taken by commenters (see 1902110007). Replies were posted Wednesday in docket 18-357. Wi-Fi advocates see the band as offering critical mid-band spectrum for unlicensed use.
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The 5GAA reminded the FCC that commenters from the technology, telecom and automotive industries support a waiver. “Grant will advance the public interest by expediting the widespread availability of C-V2X, enabling important safety, mobility, efficiency, and environmental benefits, providing Americans with access to the same modern safety technologies that are available in other parts of the world, and facilitating American leadership” in intelligent transportation systems, 5GAA said. “Grant will further, rather than undermine, the underlying purpose of the rules: to improve vehicular safety and travel.”
NCTA found agreement, on the argument 5GAA doesn’t qualify for a waiver. “The Commission has the authority to waive its own rules only if a waiver would not undermin[e] the policy which the rule in question is intended to serve’ and would be in the public interest,” NCTA commented. “The 5GAA Petition undermines the existing rules for the 5.9 GHz band by asking the Commission to fundamentally rewrite the rules, including the channelization plan and the operating rules for specific channels.” The request “gives short shrift to complex issues” better handled via rulemaking, NCTA said.
ITS America said comments demonstrate the 5.9 GHz band is far from vacant and should be protected for different iterations of V2X, including C-V2X and the dedicated short range communication technology being deployed in some areas. The only exception was “a small number of Commenters” wanting to use the band for other purposes, ITS America said. “The protection of the entire 5.9 GHz Band is necessary to ensure the continued deployment of lifesaving V2X technology by automakers, equipment manufacturers, and state departments of transportation."
Toyota said the FCC should take no action until more is known. “The 5GAA Waiver Request makes claims about the maturity, performance, evolution path, backwards compatibility, and cost of C-V2X,” Toyota said. “Before reallocating channels in the 5.9 GHz band away from DSRC to C-V2X, the Commission should fully evaluate and verify the validity of these claims.”