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June 28, 2019
Smart Cars and Trucks: Spectrum Use for Vehicle Safety
Background
From FY2003 through FY2014, DOT provided about $570
Increasing the autonomy of cars and trucks is seen as an
million for research, development, and testing of DSRC
effective way to reduce the 94% of vehicle-related
technologies. In 2015, it awarded $43 million to three pilot
accidents that are caused by human error. While some
sites (with an additional $9 million in local matches):
semiautonomous safety technologies, such as automatic
Safety in a large metropolitan area. The New York
braking and adaptive cruise control, are in use today,
City Department of Transportation is outfitting 8,000
autonomous safety technologies under development would
taxis, buses, and sanitation vehicles with DSRC safety
require cars and trucks to communicate with each other
devices to demonstrate connected-vehicle capabilities
(vehicle-to-vehicle, or V2V) and with their surroundings
focused on alerting drivers to potential crashes and
(vehicle-to-infrastructure, or V2I). V2V communication is
reducing accidents with pedestrians.
expected to reduce the number of accidents by improving
detection of oncoming vehicles and providing driver
Interstate routes and commercial vehicles. During
warnings. V2I communication is expected to help highway
severe winter weather along I-80 in Wyoming, DSRC
operators monitor and manage traffic and provide drivers
technologies are used to notify cars and trucks of
with information such as weather and traffic conditions.
disabled vehicles. Vehicles rebroadcast the warning.
These technologies are part of a congressional mandate to
The goal is to prevent weather-related crashes.
invest in and advance a broader set of intelligent
transportation systems to improve traffic flow and safety.
Mid-sized urban area. Cars, buses, and pedestrians
are part of a DSRC pilot in downtown Tampa, FL, that
For vehicles to communicate wirelessly, they need access to
alerts drivers to reduce speeds when approaching heavy
radio waves, or radio frequencies. In the United States, the
traffic, when forward collisions may be imminent, and
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) manages
where intersections are unsafe.
commercial use of the radio frequency spectrum, and
allocates spectrum for specific uses. In 1999, the FCC
In addition to these pilot projects, several manufacturers in
allocated the 5.9 gigahertz (GHz) band to Dedicated Short-
the United States and Europe have begun integrating DSRC
Range Communications (DSRC) uses. DSRC technologies,
technologies into cars and trucks; truck platooning (the
installed in cars and trucks and on roadways, enable V2V
linking of multiple trucks into a convoy through V2V
and V2I communications.
communications) has been demonstrated on U.S. highways;
and additional DSRC deployments are under way in more
Integrating DSRC technologies in vehicles and on
than two dozen states (see Figure 1.)
roadways is in its early stages. Meanwhile, the proliferation
of cell phones and other devices has increased demand for
Figure 1. DSRC Deployments
spectrum, and a competing technology, Cellular Vehicle-to-
Everything (C-V2X), has emerged as an alternative to
DSRC for vehicular communications.
In May 2019, the FCC announced it would consider
whether the 5.9 GHz band should (1) remain dedicated to
DSRC technologies, (2) be allocated to C-V2X, (3) be
allocated to automotive communications technologies
generally, or (4) be shared with wireless devices. The
FCC’s decision has important competitive implications for
the automotive, electronics, and telecommunications
industries, and may affect the availability of safety
technologies and the path toward vehicle automation.
DSRC
In 1998, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
Source: CRS, based on data from Volpe National Transportation
(TEA-21; P.L. 105-178) directed the FCC, in consultation
Systems Center (DOT), May 2019.
with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), to
Notes: DOT has 52 operational projects and 35 more planned,
consider spectrum needs for transportation, including the
including more than 26,000 devices deployed on vehicles in urban,
DSRC wireless standard. The goal of the initiative was to
rural, and suburban settings.
leverage technologies to improve traffic flow and safety.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Smart Cars and Trucks: Spectrum Use for Vehicle Safety
C-V2X
the lack of a federal standard and spectrum uncertainties,
In addition to research on DSRC, some automakers and
and also see benefits in C-V2X. Telecommunications
telecommunications and technology companies continue to
providers stand to benefit from C-V2X, as it relies in part
explore other vehicle connectivity options. The 3rd
on cellular networks and has the potential to increase their
Generation Partnership Project, a standards organization for
customer base and revenues. Telecommunications
global wireless networking, created the C-V2X standard in
technology companies, such as Qualcomm, which makes
2017. Like DSRC, C-V2X can operate independently from
both DSRC and C-V2X chips, stand to benefit from an
the cellular network for V2V and V2I communications. C-
expanded connected car market.
V2X can also connect to cellular networks and is expected
DSRC advocates, such as the Safety Spectrum Coalition,
to be able to use future 5G networks. 5G, when fully
which includes the Association of Global Automakers and
deployed, is expected to provide high-speed, low latency
the American Trucking Associations as well as many state
(i.e., reduced lag time) services needed for autonomous
departments of transportation, argue that millions of dollars
vehicles, allowing information between vehicles and
have been invested in DSRC and that the technology has
infrastructure to be shared almost instantaneously.
been thoroughly tested and is currently being deployed.
The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA), a consortium of
They argue that 5G deployment is years away in many
automakers, technology companies, telecommunication
areas, so the benefits of C-V2X will take years to arrive.
providers, standards bodies, and others, supports C-V2X.
Both DSRC advocates and 5GAA agree that the 5.9 GHz
The 5GAA asserts that C-V2X performs better than DSRC
band should remain dedicated to vehicle safety and other
in testing and is emerging as the global standard. In
intelligent transportation uses and should not be made
November 2018, 5GAA asked the FCC for a portion of the
available for other purposes.
5.9GHz band to develop and deploy C-V2X.
While the issue may be framed as a choice between DSRC
Testing of C-V2X has so far been limited. DOT plans to
and C-V2X, these two technologies could coexist. The
begin tests in three states in summer 2019.
Colorado Department of Transportation states that its
Proposed DOT Standard
intelligent transportation system, RoadX, can accept and
transmit V2V and V2I information on both DSRC and
At the end of the Obama Administration in January 2017,
cellular platforms; in time, vehicles and roadside
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
infrastructure may be able to communicate under both
(NHTSA) proposed a new federal safety standard that
standards.
would require all new light vehicles—passenger cars, sport-
utility vehicles, and pickup trucks—to be equipped with
The Coalition for Safety Sooner—comprising 15 state
DSRC technology by 2023. Proponents say that this
DOTs and other state highway authorities—says it is not in
mandate is necessary to ensure compatibility and
the public interest to delay the deployment of currently
connectivity across all vehicles and systems; DOT
available safety technologies while waiting for other
projected that implementing it could prevent more than
technologies to emerge. On the other hand, the Wi-Fi
1,000 fatalities annually. The Trump Administration has
Alliance, whose members include major electronics
taken no further action on this proposal; it has stated that
companies such as Apple, Cisco, and others, along with
DOT should remain technology-neutral rather than mandate
consumer groups and wireless internet service providers, is
a specific technology. It encourages the development of
urging the FCC to complete the interference testing before
multiple technologies that utilize the 5.9 GHz band for
adding new users to the band. These groups argue that
transportation safety.
sharing the band with unlicensed devices, including Wi-Fi
devices, will expand public access to broadband.
Policy Considerations
In 2012, Congress directed the FCC to determine whether
The challenge for policymakers is balancing the interests of
the 5.9 GHz band could be shared to support unlicensed
multiple stakeholders: investors in DSRC who committed
devices such as cordless phones, wireless speakers, and Wi-
funding to develop car and truck safety technologies and
Fi devices (P.L. 112-96, Title VI). The FCC is conducting
other intelligent transportation systems; consumer safety
extensive testing to determine whether these devices would
advocates and others who want currently available
cause interference with DSRC technologies.
technologies to be diffused quickly; potential users of
expanded Wi-Fi services; C-V2X advocates who are eager
In May 2019, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called for
to deploy the next generation of vehicle safety technologies;
reexamination of the 5.9 GHz band. Several FCC
and the nation at large, which could benefit from expanded
commissioners have supported this move, noting that the
deployment of technologies that would improve vehicle
pace of deployment of DSRC technologies left spectrum
safety, make roadways more efficient, and provide the
underutilized while consumer demands for spectrum are
economic gains that often accompany the development of
increasing, and that new technologies surpassing DSRC’s
new technologies.
capabilities need access to spectrum to develop.
Bill Canis, Specialist in Industrial Organization and
Motor vehicle, telecommunications, and technology firms
Business
have both competing and overlapping interests in the
Jill C. Gallagher, Analyst in Telecommunications Policy
outcome. Some automakers have invested in DSRC and
have plans to include it in their fleets: Cadillac markets a
IF11260
model now that includes it. Ford, Volkswagen, and Toyota
planned to follow suit, but have paused deployment due to
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Smart Cars and Trucks: Spectrum Use for Vehicle Safety
Disclaimer
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