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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 83 / Monday, May 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
from DSRC to CV2X. The Commission found that transitioning to CV2X is in the public interest and noted that the exercise of its authority under Title III
to transition operations to a new technology is consistent with past Commission actions modifying technical operational rules and mandating the use of newer technologies to maximize spectral efficiency. Licenses in the 5.9 GHz band are for the provision of ITS services, for which the Commission has required the use of DSRC technology. In revising its rules to require ITS licensees to use C
V2X technology, the Commission decided it was acting pursuant to its broad Title III spectrum management authority and consistent with its obligation to generally encourage the larger and more effective use of radio in the public interest.
40. In response to commenters claims that if the Commission adopts a band plan that provides no spectrum for ITS
licensees using DSRC technology, then the licenses effectively would be revoked and thus the Commission would exceed its section 312 authority, the Commission found that its decisions do not represent a termination of DSRC
licenses. Instead, licensees will continue to be able to provide the same vehicular safety services on the upper 30 megahertz of the band that they provide under the current ITS band designation, and the ultimate transition from DSRC to CV2X would similarly not result in any change in or reduction of vehicular-safety services. Licensees that operate under the new technical rules will maintain the same renewal expectancy they have today. The Commission also provided flexibility for ITS licensees to choose to migrate to CV2X technologies in the upper 30
megahertz sooner than required by its rules if the CV2X operation would not interfere with any existing ITS licensee that continues to use DSRC-based technology before it ultimately transitions to CV2X.
41. Other statutory considerations.
Contrary to commenters assertions, the Commission concluded that redesignating spectrum it originally set aside for ITS is not in conflict with any role assigned to it by Congress in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century TEA, nor does the action infringe on the Department of Transportations DOTs ability to continue to administer the ITS program.
The Commission reasoned that in the TEA, Congress directed the Commission to consider, in consultation with the Secretary of the U.S. DOT, spectrum needs for the operation of ITS, including spectrum for the dedicated short-range
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vehicle-to-wayside wireless standard.
However, the TEA did not require that the Commission designate the 5.9 GHz bandor any bandfor ITS, only that the Commission consider doing so. The TEA directed the Commission to complete rulemaking on ITS spectrum by January 1, 2000, which it did. That was all that Congress required for the Commission to achieve its statutory duties. By contrast, the Communications Act gives the Commission broad authority to ensure the efficient use of spectrum in the public interest. The Commission found that the action it was taking on the spectrum it designated for ITS was being done pursuant to its general authority to act in the public interest, convenience, and necessity, which, as the D.C. Circuit has explained, is the sort of spectrum management issue for which the Commissions authority is at its zenith.
47 U.S.C. 303, Teledesic, 275 F.2d at 79.
42. The Commission disagreed with ITS Americas claims that adopting the Commissions proposal to reduce the amount of ITS spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band would not satisfy the requirements of section 1 of the Communications Act as it relates to the Commissions responsibility to manage spectrum to ensure safety-of-life and property through the use of wire and radio communications. The Commission found that the record shows significant support for ensuring safety of life and property through the use of ITS in the upper 30 megahertz of the band, allowing it to repurpose the lower 45
megahertz of the band for unlicensed operations. The Commission also disagreed with ITS Americas suggestion that section 1 of the Communications Act binds the Commission so that it may only modify 5.9 GHz licenses consistent with U.S. DOTs recommendations, finding that ITS America appears to misunderstand the role Congress afforded the Commission to oversee non-federal use of spectrum including state and local governmental spectrum, whether for public safety or commercial purposes.
E. Benefits and Costs: Economic Analysis 43. The Commission reviewed the benefits of repurposing the lower 45
megahertz of the 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed use and the direct costs associated with transitioning existing ITS licensees to the upper 30 megahertz of the band. The evidence led to the conclusion that the benefits, in terms of new economic activity, are well above the costs. The Commission expected to realize substantial benefits by
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expanding Wi-Fi capacity. Even using a highly conservative approach to calculate benefits, the Commission anticipated a present value of approximately $6 billion in benefits in each of the years 20232025, or $17.2
billion over that time frame. The Commission also noted that unlicensed use of the 5.9 GHz band may lead to benefits well beyond 2025, which underscores the conservative nature of its estimates. At the same time, by preserving the upper 30 megahertz for ITS, the Commission permitted current and future licensees to continue to offer such service in the band. The Commission therefore took into consideration the one-time transaction costs associated with incumbent licensees transitioning their operations to the upper 30 megahertz of spectrum and determined that these costs are significantly less than the present value of the benefits. Specifically, the Commission limited cost considerations to the costs of transitioning existing licensees to the upper 30 megahertz of the 5.9 GHz band.
44. Benefits of Unlicensed Spectrum in the Lower 45 Megahertz of the 5.9
GHz Band. Proponents of the Commissions proposal generally referred to a RAND Corporation study RAND 5.9 GHz Study, which found that repurposing the 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed use could generate between $82.2 billion and $189.9 billion in economic welfare per year, or the substantially lower benefits estimate of approximately $28 billion between 2022
and 2025 put forth by WiFiForward 2020 WiFiForward Study, to argue that costs related to the automotive industry were small by comparison. Conversely, advocates for ITS argued that unlicensed benefits put forth in these studies were outweighed by those of retaining the band for ITS. While few commenters disputed the benefits put forth by RAND and WiFiForward, below, the Commission presented its own estimate, which errs toward underestimating benefits by using an approach that likely overcounts prospective usage of the 6 GHz band and omits various consumer benefits as well as benefits that could be achieved prior to 2023 or after 2025.
45. Other commenters supporting the Commissions proposal referred to the economic value of Wi-Fi in general and the numerous use cases that Wi-Fi enables. Commenters argued that increased Wi-Fi capacity will allow new data-intensive Internet of Things applications and complement 5G
development by facilitating the offloading of a growing percentage of mobile traffic. Other Wi-Fi benefits
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