Ford apparently thinks Ajit Pai has a better idea for sharing spectrum. The iconic automaker has come out in favor of the Federal Communications Commission chairman’s proposal for freeing up the majority of the 5.9-Gigahertz band currently reserved for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications for 5G while reserving the rest for V2V.
Pai is proposing to make the lower 45 Megahertz of the band available for unlicensed use, including WiFi, while reserving the upper 30 MHz for V2V, primarily the Cellular Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) approach to intelligent vehicle communications.
That’s according to Pai himself, who tweeted that he was thankful for Ford’s support: “Grateful for @Ford Motor Company’s support of my proposal to reform the 5.9 GHz band to enable ‘cellular vehicle-to-everything’ technology. Without this proposal — deemed an ‘appropriate and timely step’ — ‘CV2X cannot be deployed,’ and ‘significant safety benefits [are] delayed.’”
Wrote Ford president James Hackett: “Extensive testing has shown that CV2X will give people the ability to move more safely and freely than ever before. Via the intended rulemaking process, the FCC is providing the opportunity for this technology to come to market.
“Without this proceeding, CV2X cannot be deployed,” Hackett added. “Without this proceeding, innovation is paralyzed. Without this proceeding, the opportunity to realize significant safety benefits is delayed. Triggering a deliberative process to carefully but expeditiously include CV2X as a crash avoidance technology is the appropriate and timely step. It will also mitigate congestion, reduce carbon emissions and lead to widespread socioeconomic benefits.”
