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

  • ITS Australia report identifies opportunities for Australia’s transport technology industry
    March 2, 2017
    Released today, 2 March, the ITS Australia Smart Transport for Australia report is a review of the nation’s smart transport technology industry, identifying future opportunities for safer, more efficient and sustainable transport.
  • Global mobility study: world on the move
    November 27, 2020
    ERF reviews impact of new mobility on road infrastructure in 20 countries pre-Covid
  • Australia and Michigan to develop safer roads and vehicle technology
    October 10, 2018
    The Australian government and the US state of Michigan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop vehicle and road systems to help improve road safety. Michael McCormack, deputy prime minister and minister for infrastructure, transport and regional development, says the agreement is part of a strategy to position Australia for safer roads through automated and connected vehicles. “This is just one way the government is promoting safer vehicles on safer roads, including for our region
  • SwRI and USDOT operate connected vehicle affiliated test bed
    December 9, 2013
    In the US, the Texas-based Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is operating a connected vehicle affiliated test bed in cooperation with the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration. The DOT test bed project facilitates information exchange as well as access to tools and resources across other test bed facilities to support and encourage consistent future deployment of connected vehicle technologies. The project aims to advance the technology for full deplo