FCC Commissioners to Vote on Wi-Fi, C-V2X Use of 5.9 GHz

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai confirmed Tuesday commissioners will vote Nov. 18 on their long-awaited order opening the 5.9 GHz band for Wi-Fi and cellular vehicle-to-everything.

The proposed rules make the lower 45 MHz available for unlicensed uses like Wi-Fi, said an FCC news release. The upper 30 MHz would be allocated to C-V2X, with no specific allocation for dedicated short-range communications. DSRC has occupied the band for 20 years.

“5.9 GHz spectrum has lain fallow for far too long,” Pai said: “For the last two decades, the American people have waited for this prime mid-band spectrum to be put to use, and the time for waiting is over. … We should move on from DSRC and unlock forward-looking automotive safety technology.”