FCC Seeks to Update and Refresh the Record in the "Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) Devices in the 5 GHz Band" Proceeding

By this Public Notice, the Federal Communications Commission invites interested parties to update and refresh the record on the status of potential sharing solutions between proposed Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) devices and Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) operations in the 5.850-5.925 GHz (U-NII-4) band. U-NII devices provide short-range, high-speed unlicensed wireless connections in the 5 GHz band for, among other applications, Wi-Fi-enabled radio local networks, cordless telephones, and fixed outdoor broadband transceivers used by wireless Internet providers. DSRC uses short-range wireless communication links to facilitate information transfer between appropriately-equipped vehicles and appropriately-equipped roadside systems (“vehicle to infrastructure” or “V2I”) and between appropriately-equipped vehicles (“vehicle to vehicle” or “V2V”).

In this Public Notice, we are building on efforts to date by the Commission, the Department of Transportation (DoT), and the automotive and communications industries to evaluate potential sharing techniques. In August 2015, the DoT released a DSRC-Unlicensed Device Test Plan that described tests to characterize the existing radio frequency signal environment and identify the impacts to DSRC operations if unlicensed devices operate in the 5.850-5.925 GHz band. As suggested by two Congressional letters received in September 2015, the Commission is now seeking to refresh the record of its pending 5.9 GHz rulemaking proceeding to provide interested stakeholders the opportunity to provide further comment on sharing in the band. We also solicit the submittal of prototype unlicensed, interference-avoiding devices for testing, and seek comment on a proposed FCC test plan to evaluate electromagnetic compatibility of unlicensed devices and DSRC