The Safety Band-Talking Points

The Safety Band is a band of wireless spectrum at 5.9 GHz reserved for transportation-related communications among the devices that support connected and automated vehicles. Interacting via the interference free Safety Band, these high-precision devices enable communications between vehicles and traffic lights, generate real-time alerts or warnings, and adjust signals to give emergency vehicles priority in heavy traffic—dramatically improving our transportation safety and mobility. As the U.S. continues to invest in deployment of millions of connected and automated vehicles across our country, the Safety Band enables continued economic growth.

As technology advances, interoperability is central to enabling universal, nationwide,and regionwide vehicle-to everything (V2X) capability and benefits. Sharing the band could compromise the speed
at which this information is received and put lives at risk. With over 37,000 deaths on our nation’s roads every year, it is critical that efforts to free up additional spectrum do not come at the expense of lifesaving technologies.

• The 75 MHz Safety Band provides a clear channel that enables road signs, traffic signals, and crosswalks to “talk” to vehicles, warning them of potential hazards in time to prevent accidents. These smart technologies can also send life-saving alerts to avoid accidents with pedestrians, playing children, bicyclists, motorcyclists, the disabled community, and emergency responders.
  • V2X technologies need a full 75 MHz of dedicated spectrum to ensure uninterrupted high-speed communication. This full spectrum can be used for numerous safety applications: collision avoidance; emergency response priority; pedestrian in crosswalk notification; and red light, work zone, reduced speed zone; and weather impact warnings.
• Technologies in the Safety Band are unaffected by fog, rain, snow, and blinding sunbeams—but they are affected by encroaching Wi-Fi signals. Information is carried so that vehicles can “see” around blind curves and traffic in ways that conventional line-of-sight technologies like radar cannot.
• For vehicle connectivity to flourish, the FCC must preserve the full 75 MHz Safety Band. Industry and innovation companies need to know the airways that connected vehicles depend upon will be free of interference and fully available as this life-saving technology is being deployed coast to coast.
  • Less Spectrum = Less Safety. Less innovation = Less Leadership
• V2X applications within the Safety Band can dramatically improve our nation’s transportation safety and mobility and reduce traveler and taxpayer burden from system inefficiencies or emergency and first responder costs.
• Nearly 90 percent of the commenters filed with the FCC on the topic of reallocating Safety Spectrum were in opposition. They want the full 75 MHz preserved. Taking a stance to preserve the Safety Band were city departments of transportation, all 50 state departments of transportation, automakers, vehicle suppliers, technology companies, law enforcement, first responders, safety advocates, engineers, telecommunications companies, the drone industry, and many others. These groups asked the FCC to heed the warnings of USDOT that this plan would not allow sufficient spectrum for V2X to function, threatening the significant safety benefits this technology provides.