Texas CAV Task Force

Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC)

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a two-way short- to medium-range wireless communications capability that permits very high data transmission critical in communications-based active safety applications (19). According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) (Dedicated Short Range Communications of Intelligent Transportation Services—Final Rule, Federal Register Doc. No. 99-30591), DSRC is “the use of non-voice radio techniques to transfer data over short distances between roadside and mobile radio units, between mobile units, and between portable and mobile units to perform operations related to the improvement of traffic flow, traffic safety and other intelligent transportation service applications in a variety of public and commercial environments.” DSRC is a technology designed for the transmission of information between multiple vehicles and between vehicles and the transportation infrastructure using wireless technologies (20). FCC has issued a ruling to reallocate the spectrum that is dedicated to transportation safety. While there was a 75-MHz allocation for DSRC, FCC has made the lower 45 MHz of the 5.9-GHz band available for unlicensed operations such as Wi-Fi and allocated the upper 30 MHz for cellular-vehicle-to-everything operations (24). Existing DSRC licenses are able to continue operating in the upper 30 MHz; however, existing operations in the lower 45 MHz are required to cease operations after the one-year transition period.

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