The FCC approved 11 waiver requests from entities looking for permission to begin early deployments of cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology in the 5.895-5.925 GHz band.
Each party sought the waiver applicable to intelligent transportation systems (ITS) operations to allow C-V2X technology to be used in the upper 30 MHz portion (5.895–5.925 GHz) of the 5.9 GHz band before the Commission adopts final C-V2X based rules. The C-V2X equipment subject to the waiver requests would operate in the 5905–5925 MHz portion of the 5.9 GHz band using a 20 MHz channel.
The public and private transportation stakeholders and equipment companies intend to operate Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC)-based roadside units on-board units in the upper 30 MHz of the 5.9 GHz band. The applicants are bound to protect DSRC and federal incumbents from potentially harmful interference caused by C-V2X operations.
The applicants sought the waivers in 2021. The final rules for C-V2X in the band have been pending since November 2020. That’s when the Commission approved an order opening 45 MHz of the band for WiFi, while allocating 30 MHz C-V2X technology in the upper portion of the band.
Many of the waivers were sought by state, local, and municipal transportation authorities. They include the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation; the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development; the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority; Prince George’s County, MD; the Contra Costa Transportation Authority; the Maine Department of Transportation and Battelle Memorial Institute, a contractor for the Federal Railroad Administration.
Equipment manufacturers, Ettifos Co.; Continental Automotive Systems, Inc.; IT-Telecom Co., Ltd.; and Nissan Technical Center North America also sought waivers.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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