Washington, D.C. — Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO), Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Chair Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Ranking Member Rodney Davis (R-IL) sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) expressing their support for transportation stakeholders to have authority to operate Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology in the 5.9 GHz radio frequency band. The members urge the agency to issue waivers to stakeholders planning to deploy C-V2X technology for safety services in the near-term, while the FCC continues to develop its final rules regarding the use of C-V2X intelligent transportation systems (ITS) safety technology in the 5.895-5.925 GHz band. 

“We are writing to express our support for transportation stakeholders to have authority to operate Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology in the 5.9 GHz radio frequency band,” the members wrote to FCC’s Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “An increasing number of public and private transportation stakeholders are seeking waivers to operate this technology, and we ask that you act expeditiously to grant their requests. Investment in and deployment of C-V2X within the 5.9 GHz band is critical to improving transportation safety and will clearly advance the public interest.” 

The members emphasized the safety benefits of the FCC using its waiver authority: “Motor vehicle crashes killed an estimated 42,915 people in the U.S. in 2021, a 10.5 percent increase from the previous year.[1] This is the highest number of traffic fatalities since 2005, and the largest annual percentage increase in fatalities since the U.S. Department of Transportation began tracking this data in 1975.[2] Now, more than ever, it is imperative that regulators use every tool at their disposal to reduce the growing death toll on our roadways. Simply put, C-V2X technology has the potential to save lives—but only if regulators allow it to do so… As FCC Chair, we urge you to demonstrate your stated commitment to transportation safety by expeditiously granting these waivers.[3]”
 
The full letter can be found here. 
 
  

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