Why unlicensed wi-fi is a threat to safety on US roads

Speaking exclusively to traffictechnologytoday.com editor Tom Stone, HNTB’s Steve Novosad explains why the recent FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on opening up 45 MHz of the 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed wi-fi is a much bigger issue than whether DSRC or C-V2X is the technology of choice for transportation safety use. Novosad is speaking from the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway where he has been closely involved, in partnership with Siemens Mobility, in the USDOT’s Connected Vehicle Pilot, currently entering its final stages, But, while this pilot is DSRC based, and Novosad is wary of throwing away time and money invested in this technology, he’s more concerned about overall encroachment on the the bandwidth currently reserved exclusively for transportation safety.