Statement On U.S. Circuit Court Decision Regarding 5.9 GHz Spectrum
ITS America President & CEO Laura Chace, ASHTO Executive Director Jim Tymon React to Court DecisionToday’s court decision rejecting ITS America and AASHTO’s appeal to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision reallocating a majority of the 5.9 GHz spectrum is a blow to transportation safety for all Americans. At a time when roadway deaths are at an all-time high, our efforts to preserve the entire 75 MHz spectrum for connected vehicle safety solutions demonstrate the industry’s commitment to saving lives. Transportation safety stakeholders are overwhelmingly unified in opposition to the FCC’s ruling. We are disappointed and frustrated that the FCC and the Court disregarded our collective expertise and feedback, ignoring the importance of transportation safety and ignoring the importance of using these technologies to stop the public health emergency on our nation’s roadways. The FCC instead continued to prioritize economic interests over public safety.
Despite this disappointing ruling, we will continue our efforts to ensure the remaining 30 MHz is free from dangerous interference and advances transportation safety. In addition, ITS America’s Future of V2X Working Group has been working actively for months to determine strategies to effectively deploy lifesaving Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technologies under a new paradigm.
AASHTO has also been working with its members to further the readiness, deployment, and integration of V2X technologies on public roadways. Connected vehicle technology and automated transportation solutions will continue to be critical tools to assist the transportation industry in achieving our goal to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all.
ITS America, AASHTO, and our members continue to envision and explore the future of connectivity and the needs of our transportation system as technology advances. Accordingly, we call on the FCC to allocate an additional spectrum for advanced V2X communications, which the FCC told the Court it would consider during oral arguments earlier this year.
As fatalities on U.S. roadways continue to increase, we must use all available tools – including connected vehicles, automation, and other mobility technologies – to reverse this devastating trend.
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