Chairman Wheeler Response to Sen Blumenthal, Markey Re: Consumer Safety and Privacy of Dedicated Short Range Communications Spectrum

On August 4, Sens Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Ed Markey (D-MA) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler regarding the safety and privacy of dedicated short range communications services (DSRC).

On Sept 7, Chairman Wheeler responded by saying that, "Due to the number of interrelated issues that are implicated by DSRC, the Commission intends to work closely with our partners at the Department of Transportation (DoT), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to address the concerns raised in your letter. In this regard, the Commission is seeking comment on a petition requesting the adoption of service rules protecting the cybersecurity and privacy of DSRC users and that DSRC spectrum be reserved for vehicle safety use. Comments were due on August 25, 2016, and reply comments are due September 9,2016. Those comments, coupled with coordinated DoT and NHTSA activities, will inform our actions going forward."