In a move that will help close the digital divide without spending taxpayer resources, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the Federal
In a move that will help close the digital divide without spending taxpayer resources, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the Federal Communications Commission’s order allowing the communications industry to use part of the 5.9 GHz spectrum band that had previously been allocated to the automotive industry. The decision will free providers to put this woefully underused band to work toward broadband deployment.
The D.C. Circuit said in its ruling that it “disagree(d) on all fronts” regarding the arguments from petitioners Intelligent Transportation Society of America and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials that the FCC failed to explain its decision adequately and unlawfully revoked or modified FCC licenses.
In 1999, the FCC reallocated 75 megahertz of spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band for use in Dedicated Short-Range Communications, a technology designed to allow car-to-car communications and help prevent accidents. But that technology was scarcely used by the Department of Transportation and many car manufacturers adopted alternative technologies.
The FCC’s order (a unanimous 5-0 vote in 2020) still left 30MHz of the spectrum for car-safety technology — primarily the new Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) — while repurposing 45 MHz for Wi-Fi.
