Skip to main content

Australia moves towards C-ITS systems

Plans to establish a connected vehicle network, known as Co-operative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS), across Australia have taken a significant step forward with the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) intention to allocate the 5.9 GHz band by early 2017. The body representing Australia’s vehicle industry, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCIA), has welcomed ACMA’s release this week of a consultation paper outlining the proposed regulatory measures to support the na
August 16, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Plans to establish a connected vehicle network, known as Co-operative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS), across Australia have taken a significant step forward with the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) intention to allocate the 5.9 GHz band by early 2017.

The body representing Australia’s vehicle industry, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCIA), has welcomed ACMA’s release this week of a consultation paper outlining the proposed regulatory measures to support the national roll-out of C-ITS.

FCAI chief executive Tony Weber said the regulatory framework provided by ACMA is an essential first step in the development of an integrated, automated and connected driving network in which vehicles will be able to digitally exchange information with other vehicles sharing the same road and equally importantly, allow vehicles to communicate with the road network and surrounding infrastructure.

Weber said ACMA’s proposed regulatory arrangements support the introduction of C-ITS in the 5.9 Gigahertz band, confirming that the Australian C-ITS standards will be the same as that used in EU. Any vehicles operating on other frequency bands, such as those built specifically for use in the Japanese domestic market, will not be able to communicate with Australian vehicles.

“And what is equally as important, any vehicles imported that operate on different standards, will illegally interfere with a range of other services here such as toll roads and mobile phones,” he says.

“This consultation paper places a digital marker from which our C-ITS will mirror those being planned and implemented by Europe.”

The FCAI has been in consultation with ACMA, Austroads, which is developing the all-important framework for the rollout of C-ITS nationally, as well as other major stakeholders.

Related Content

  • Are truck bans the wrong move in the battle for air quality
    June 29, 2016
    Low emission zones and heavy goods vehicles’ access to city centres may at first glance appear attractive but how effective are such controls? Jon Masters reviews emerging trends across Europe. Around 1,700 European cities have implemented low emission zones (LEZs) and in addition some have restricted city centre access for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). Even those that restrict HGV access, such as Paris and Rome, allow exemptions at certain times and for particular classes of vehicle. But with what effect?
  • Mobility pricing offers new tools for managing mobility
    November 23, 2017
    Mobility pricing is the best way of sustaining and enhancing mobility, argues Moving Forward Consulting’s Josef Czako. Mobility pricing (MP) is effectively the culmination of the ‘user pays’ principle and has been referred to in many policy discussions about electronic toll collection, road user charging (RUC), and pricing. MP not only reflects the ‘use more, pay more’ nature of RUC, it also takes account of the external cost of journeys including pollution, noise, the cost of congestion and accidents.
  • FCC 5.9 GHz waiver opens road to C-V2X deployment in US
    April 25, 2023
    Federal Communications Commission decision clears major road safety obstacle
  • IBTTA looks forward to working with new Transportation Secretary
    January 13, 2017
    The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has welcomed the US Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee’s confirmation of Elaine L. Chao as Secretary of the US Department of Transportation. During the hearing, Chao stated in her opening remarks that a challenge for the nation’s infrastructure is to, “unleash the potential for private investment in our nation’s infrastructure. As we work together to develop the details of President Trump’s infrastructure plan, it is impor