GROUPS URGE FCC TO ADOPT INTEROPERABILITY STANDARD FOR 5.9 GHZ

The FCC last fall proposed licensing and service rules for 5850-5925 MHz for dedicated short-range communications services (DSRC) in intelligent transportation systems (CD Nov 8 p9). The Commission proposed to allow entities providing public safety DSRC operations to use that band and to apply application, licensing and processing rules under Part 90 of its rules for public safety agencies. It also proposed applying competitive bidding procedures if it allowed nonpublic safety users in the band and if the licensing scheme it adopted resulted in mutually exclusive licenses. The point of DSRC systems is to provide a short-range wireless link to send information between vehicles traveling at high speeds and roadside units or other vehicles. Applications include traffic monitoring and traveler alerts. The FCC allocated that band in 1999 for DSRC operations and set basic technical rules. Since then, the Intelligent Transportation Society (ITS) of America has crafted a consensus proposal representing the views of the ITS community on service rules and licensing. The FCC sought comment on issues such as how to define DSRC and public safety uses.

The PSWN said in comments that to prevent congestion, commercial dedicated-short range services and applications shouldn’t be allowed in the band. “Public safety DSRC systems should be designated as the primary users of this band, and those entities should be licensed by geographic area whenever possible, with authorized service areas varying to meet the requirements of each application,” the Network said. Public safety DSRC systems and private systems that support public safety and traffic safety functions and “protect critical infrastructure assets” should be allowed but set apart from other operations in the band, the program said.

PSWN also recommended the FCC: (1) Adopt aggressive enforcement policies and clear service rules for coverage areas, as well as quality-of-service standards. (2) Maintain a database with licensee information on all national DSRC- based intelligent transportation systems to encourage compliance when interference occurs. It suggested an “override system to terminate non-public -safety applications when they cause harmful interference.” (3) Review licensees’ performance records regularly to ensure those technologies are used efficiently and are improving traffic safety. (4) Mandate prior coordination procedures when those operations could conflict with operations such as fixed satellite services or high-power radar.

The Transportation Dept. took an opposite view on whether more than public safety operations should be allowed at 5.9 GHz for those operations. It contended that commercial developers would need to be allowed to use that spectrum because the market for safety-related applications alone was relatively narrow. Opening the band on a “nonpriority” basis to applications other than safety “would broaden the market qualitatively, so as to provide industry the incentive to develop DSRC products on which public safety applications would ‘piggyback,’ and both types of application would benefit from the economies of scale,” DoT said. Such an approach would be in line with the intent of Congress that intelligent transportation system technologies be used to advance both the safety and efficiency of U.S. surface transportation, the department said.

To reach a DoT goal of every vehicle on the road eventually having DSRC-based safety applications, the filing said 2 conditions must be met: (1) Opening the band to nonsafety uses, while giving public safety operations priority over other applications. (2) Providing national interoperability through mandatory standards. Current safety applications that use dedicated short-range communications include traffic signal preemption by emergency vehicles and international border clearance. Broader deployment of such technologies has been limited by lack of a national standard for dedicated short-range communications, “the relatively modest capabilities of current technology” and absence of a “payoff” from existing applications, DoT said. Voluntary standards haven’t worked to spread the use of safety devices beyond limited categories of uses and have hampered the creation of a broader market, it said. “Although it is unusual, it is not unprecedented for the FCC to adopt technical standards,” DoT said. “For a new radio service such as DSCR, the FCC has the opportunity to ensure interoperability and enhance the viability of the major advances in vehicle safety that depend upon DSRC, through this rulemaking.” Specifically, the Transportation Dept. asks the Commission to adopt standards crafted by the American Society of Testing & Materials (ASTM), which are backed by the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America).

ITS America stressed to the FCC that “fundamental” to its original request for licensing and services rules was Commission adoption of a single wireless transmission for the band in the form of the ASTM standard for interoperability. That would allow all users, including public safety and nonpublic safety, and all transmission equipment to operate in line with the standard. “A failure to adopt the standard would make it difficult, if not impossible, to realize interoperability and achieve the significant and unique public benefits envisioned for the band,” ITS America said. It said that while there was an industry agreement to use the ASTM standard, “only the Commission’s adoption will ensure future compliance.” The group said widespread use of DSRC- based ITS systems would allow passenger vehicles to receive warnings on road and traffic conditions, pay for tolls and parking and avoid collisions. For public safety users, those systems allow traffic signals to switch to green for ambulances and allow clearance of commercial vehicles across international borders.

Wireless chipset manufacturer Intersil urged the FCC to define DSRC to allow “the broadest range of applications, limited only by the general scope of intelligent transportation services.” Specific future services using dedicated short-range communications aren’t clear yet, Intersil said. “If the Commission wishes to exclude particular services, such as commercial mobile radio service, it should do so simply by naming them, as more general limiting language may also eliminate valid applications,” Intersil said. A radio designed only for public safety users in that band would tend to be expensive because of the limited market size, the company said. “Expanding the market to include commercial and other users brings down the cost for all, including public safety agencies,” it said. “The technical rules provide for a high level of frequency reuse, so that one class of users will not crowd out another.” Intersil also urged adoption of the ASTM standard to “set a high degree of technical compatibility in the band.”

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers told the Commission it backed the use of 5.9 GHz DSRC spectrum to be used primarily for public safety. “Commercial, non-safety- related use of the spectrum, including private vehicle-to- vehicle uses, should also be allowed as long as safety- related uses are given highest priority,” the group said. “This recognizes the expectation that commercial uses and services, while co-existing on the DSRC band with safety services on a noninterference basis, will play an important role in subsidizing and therefore expediting the deployment” and growth in those systems.