ICYMI: Bipartisan Group Sent Letter to Senate Commerce and House E&C Committees Urging DOT to Drop 5.9 GHz Delays

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Two years ago, the FCC took bipartisan action to allow both unlicensed broadband and automotive uses in the 5.9 GHz band in order to more efficiently utilize spectrum while keeping American automotive safety a top priority. That decision cleared the way for billions of dollars in economic value and innovation. Other agencies, such as the Department of Transportation, have since sought to undermine the FCC’s decision, intent on re-asserting a false claim that the automotive industry should control the entire band. A recent letter signed by 11 broadband advocacy groups in response to a new study announced by the DOT of the 5.9 GHz band called these efforts misguided. 

Click to download Letter

The letter was sent to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The letter emphasized that DOT should focus on bringing the automotive industry’s new cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology to vehicles, not on pressuring the FCC to roll back its unanimous and bipartisan decision on the 5.9 GHz band. By directing the agency to drop the project, the federal government can maintain a unified voice on spectrum, the groups argued.

Here are some toplines from the letter:

  • Unlicensed technologies add hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy every year. Economists calculate that enabling access to part of the 5.9 GHz band will add more than $28 billion by 2025, emphasizing its importance in our country.
  • The FCC undertook a lengthy, full and fair public rulemaking in 2020 that expressly considered the views of all stakeholders to make a “bipartisan and unanimous decision that adopted careful technical rules to protect neighboring automotive services.” 
  • The FCC’s decision is also critical for American jobs, especially when more workers are relying on online networks to access services. 
  • Rather than relitigate the FCC’s bipartisan decision on a spectrum matter, DOT should focus on helping the automotive industry deliver time-critical vehicle-safety messages and applications.
  • Spectrum is a finite asset, and after a 20-year grant of exclusive use of the band, the FCC was right to not allow these critical mid-band frequencies to lie fallow any longer. 

Download the full letter here.