Harold Feld destroyed the carmakers' claim they need 75 MHz of dedicated spectrum for safety. Ajit Pai and a unanimous FCC decided to return 45 MHz to public and unlicensed use. The remaining 30 MHz is more than enough for safety needs. The battle now is whether the automakers get more spectrum to send you commercials and possibly to track you. Congressman Pete DeFazio wants to confuse and delay things. He has now asked the GAO to find a way to bring back the discredited safety arguments. (below)
Harold is the most important telecom consumer advocate and did an excellent job explaining this clearly. He writes at Techdirt
For the Auto Industry, It’s About the Money -- Not Saving Lives
Lobbyists have pressed the “safety band” argument consistently, while acting offended whenever someone points out that 30 MHz leaves them plenty of spectrum for actual highway safety uses if the industry just drops the commercial aspect. Of course, the auto industry says it’s “not about the money.” The industry claims it just expects even more awesome safety features at some indefinite time in the future and therefore requires all 75 MHz of spectrum for when that magical day arrives. In the meantime, though, the auto industry argues it might as well use the extra 45 MHz of spectrum for collecting people’s personal driving information and serving them personal ads -- solely in the name of efficiency, of course.
For the last four years, the auto industry has refused a non-commercial condition on a band that the industry itself claims is strictly for safety.
Politicians lie, often stupidly. That won't change when Trump leaves town.
Peter A. DeFazio
Chairman
Dear Mr. Dodaro:
Since 1999, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has reserved a portion of the
5.9 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum band for connected vehicle technologies. The vehicle fleet today
includes some limited applications of these technologies and more are expected to emerge in the
near future. Advanced technologies hold tremendous potential to improve transportation safety,
reduce congestion, and decrease pollution, among other prospective uses. Some of these
technologies rely on wireless communication between vehicles, between vehicles and infrastructure
(such as traffic signals), or vehicles and other users (such as pedestrians).
The Department of Transportation (DOT) conducted research, provided grants to cities,
and otherwise encouraged the development and deployment of vehicle safety technologies that use
the Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) standard on 5.9 GHz spectrum. For example,
DOT has supported municipal efforts to install “smart” streetlight and traffic signal prioritization
equipment that wirelessly communicates with vehicles on the road. More at https://www.scribd.com/document/483181705/T-I-letter-to-GAO