On Oct. 27, 2020, the FCC issued a press release announcing that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai had shared with his Commission colleagues draft new rules for the 5.9 GHz band (5.850-5.925 GHz) that will be voted on at the upcoming Nov. 18, 2020 meeting.
The new rules would make the lower 45 megahertz of the 5.9 GHz band (5.850-5.895 GHz) available for unlicensed uses like Wi-Fi. The new rules would also transition the upper 30 megahertz of the 5.9 GHz band from DSRC to Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology.
According to the press release, Chairman Pai is also proposing rules to implement the new 5.9 GHz band plan that include a proposed timeline and technical parameters for transitioning the limited number of incumbent Intelligent Transportation Systems licensees to the upper 30 megahertz portion of the band (and then to C-V2X-based technology), as well as adopting technical rules to enable full-power outdoor unlicensed operations in the lower 45 megahertz portion of the band.
Note: A draft public version of the rule was posted here on Oct. 29, 2020.