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Carmakers Object to FCC Wi-Fi Spectrum Plan
U.S. plans to broaden the broadcast spectrum available to wi-fi services could pose a safety threat for upcoming vehicle-to-vehicle communications.
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U.S. plans to broaden the broadcast spectrum available to wi-fi services could pose a safety threat for upcoming vehicle-to-vehicle communications.
Carmakers are urging the Federal Communications Commission to postpone allocation of bandwidth adjacent to the spectrum they were assigned 14 years ago.
The auto industry has used that spectrum to develop a wide range of safety-related and autonomous vehicle technologies that are now ready to come to market. Such products would enable vehicles to swap information that could ease traffic congestion, alert drivers of problems ahead and reduce the chance of crashes.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers warns that allowing nearby frequencies to handle wi-fi might jam those capabilities or even produce false readings.
The FCC wants to assign more bandwidth for wi-fi services to ease congestion in such areas as convention centers and airports. The commission could rule on the allocation as early as next week.
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