The FCC will vote next month on opening up the 5.9 GHz band for Wi-Fi and new vehicle communications. At its meeting in December, Chairman Ajit Pai said he will propose dedicating 45 MHz in the lower part of the band for unlicensed Wi-Fi and the upper 20 MHz for Cellular Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) services.
The band was first set aside in 1999 for a service called Dedicated Short-Range Communications, also intended for transport and vehicle-related communications. However, the technology failed to take off and the frequencies have been largely unused. Since then cellular-based technologies have advanced to power communications between vehicles and the surrounding road infrastructure.
The FCC conducted tests last year showing Wi-Fi could operate in the band without interference for existing devices. Pai's proposal was welcomed by WifiForward, the industry group working on opening up more spectrum to Wi-Fi services.
