Auto, tech cos urge light regulation for V2X spectrum use; telcos seek exclusive allocation

New Delhi: Tech and automotive companies called for a light-touch regulatory mechanism through a general authorisation or class licensing framework to enable vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications to improve road safety, opposing telecom operators’ demand to allocate spectrum only to licensed operators.

V2X is a wireless communication technology that allows vehicles to exchange real-time data with their surroundings, including other vehicles and road infrastructure, to help prevent accidents, reduce traffic congestion and enable autonomous driving.

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To enable the technology, industry associations representing the automotive industry and equipment manufacturers said the government should not charge any spectrum charges or entry fees because V2X is for public welfare and is a safety application operating on shared, non-exclusive spectrum.

Industry think tank Broadband India Forum also opposed charging fees based on adjusted gross revenues (AGR) for this technology, calling it burdensome and misaligned with public infrastructure.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has proposed charging spectrum fees for V2X services as a percentage of AGR, as the regulator foresees commercial use of the services for traffic analytics and fleet management.

The regulator organised an open house discussion on the subject Thursday, where industry bodies and companies raised their demands and concerns.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) strongly advocated that the spectrum be assigned exclusively to existing telecom operators and suggested a localised, corridor-based deployment model where road authorities select a telco to manage the infrastructure.

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Automotive players opposed this demand.

According to COAI, telcos are best equipped to leverage their network management capabilities to allocate resources and manage interference across overlapping deployments.

Top telecom operator Reliance Jio said the government should take an auction-led approach to assigning spectrum, unlike most players who favoured shared or unlicensed spectrum. While safety applications have been carved out for administrative allocation under the Telecom Act, Jio said sharing spectrum among multiple providers would create a lot of technical difficulties and auctions are the best way to manage how many providers are permitted to operate.

Vodafone Idea called for allocation of resources, but only to telcos.

German automotive equipment maker Continental AG said charging for spectrum will hinder the deployment of roadside units and onboard units, defeating the safety objectives since V2X only works when the majority of vehicles and infrastructure are connected. The company also called for keeping the spectrum band unpartitioned for safety and non-safety use.

The company warned that the 30MHz spectrum proposed to be allocated for V2X will be insufficient for India, estimating that 40-60MHz is needed due to the massive density of two-wheelers and close vehicle proximity.

Automotive players said the government should initially roll out V2X services using 4G/LTE-based technologies as long as they are strictly interoperable and upgradeable later to 5G. They also asked for a dual certification model to keep consumer costs manageable and align with existing standards.

The Automotive Research Association of India said roadside units should fall under the telecom mandatory testing regime, which will be managed by the telecom department, while onboard units should be certified under vehicle mandates by the road transport ministry.