FCC, Auto Industry Fight Over Vehicle-to-Everything Communication

DETROIT – The auto industry is promising to dramatically expand “vehicle-to-everything” communication technology, but only if the Federal Communication Commission rolls back its decision to take away the current airwaves dedicated to that technology.

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology is expected to increase road safety by allowing vehicles to communicate with one another, as well as smart infrastructure like traffic signals, to better avoid crashes or other mishaps. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group that represents all of the major automakers and their suppliers, released a statement Thursday vowing to install 5 million pieces of V2X equipment over the next five years. But that promise was predicated on the FCC reversing an earlier decision to repurpose the airwaves that have been set aside for V2X communication.

“This commitment represents more than 50 times the number of devices on the road today,” said John Bozzella, the group’s president, in a statement. “This commitment by automakers clearly shows that these lifesaving technologies are ready and can be deployed in significant numbers in the next five years.”