May 16, 2019—Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai on Wednesday delayed plans to begin in June a comprehensive review of a valuable band of spectrum reserved for vehicles to communicate with one another, according to a report from the Insurance Journal.
Pai on Tuesday had called for the FCC “to take a fresh look” at the largely unused 75 megahertz of spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band.
The delay complied with a request from U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao for more time before the commission takes up the 5.9 GHz matter, FCC spokesman Brian Hart said.
A spokesman for Chao declined to comment to Insurance Journal, but the department has previously said it is essential for public safety that the spectrum be reserved for the auto industry. Called Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC), the technology could eliminate hundreds of thousands of annual car crashes, automakers and regulators say.
