Carmakers Pledge 5 Million ‘Talking Cars’ in FCC Airwaves Bid
- Auto group asks Pai to curb revamp of road safety frequencies
- Commission mulling proposal for Wi-Fi access to auto spectrum
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
The U.S. auto industry will deploy millions more wireless systems to help prevent traffic collisions if the Federal Communications Commission abandons a proposal that would take away most of the radio frequencies reserved to carry those signals, according to an industry trade association.
If the commission agrees to preserve those airwaves for vehicle safety, auto companies will install at least five million so-called vehicle-to-everything radios on vehicles and roadside infrastructure over the next five years, far more than have been deployed so far, Alliance for Automotive Innovation President John Bozzella said in a Thursday letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. The group represents most major carmakers in the U.S.