FCC unlocks new airwaves for vehicular radar use

The US Federal Communications Commission has expanded the spectrum available for vehicular radars that are used for a variety of purposes, including safety applications like collision avoidance and adaptive cruise control. The agency’s action expands the current 76-77 GHz spectrum allocation to include the entire 76-81 GHz band and transitions radars out of the 24 GHz band. This is consistent with the spectrum that is available internationally, avoiding the need to customise the radars in vehicles for diffe
July 18, 2017 Read time: 1 min
The US 2115 Federal Communications Commission has expanded the spectrum available for vehicular radars that are used for a variety of purposes, including safety applications like collision avoidance and adaptive cruise control.


The agency’s action expands the current 76-77 GHz spectrum allocation to include the entire 76-81 GHz band and transitions radars out of the 24 GHz band. This is consistent with the spectrum that is available internationally, avoiding the need to customise the radars in vehicles for different markets.

“Access to this additional spectrum will enable continued innovation in this space, allowing these radars to better distinguish between objects in areas close to the vehicle,” the FCC said in a statement. “This action will improve performance for applications such as lane change warnings, blind spot detection, parking aids, ‘stop and follow’, ‘stop and go’, autonomous braking and pedestrian detection.”

Location Based Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • C-ITS in the EU: ‘A little tribal’
    April 1, 2019
    As the C-ITS Delegated Act begins its journey through the European policy maze, Adam Hill looks at who is expecting what from this proposed framework for connected vehicles – and why some people are insisting that the lawmakers are already getting things wrong here are furrowed brows in Brussels and Strasbourg as European Union legislators begin to consider the rules which will underpin future services such as connected vehicles. The idea is to create a regulatory framework to harmonise cooperative ITS
    Read More
  • Ford Research looking to help drivers manage stressful situations on the road
    June 28, 2012
    Engineers in the Ford Research and Innovation labs are developing ways to help the driver stay focused in busy situations by intelligently managing incoming communications. Data from the sensing systems of driver-assist technologies can be used to determine the amount of external demand and workload upon a driver at any given time including traffic and road conditions. In addition, Ford continues its health and wellness research with the development of a biometric seat, seat belt and steering wheel that can
    Read More
  • Connected car devices market predicted to grow at 16.3 per cent by 2021
    April 6, 2017
    The latest research report from MarketsandMarkets indicates that the connected car devices market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 16.3 per cent from 2016 to 2021, to reach US$57.15 Billion by 2021. Some of the major factors responsible for the growth of the market are government regulations for safety and increasing electrification of vehicles. Connected car devices with dedicated short range communication (DSRC) as connectivity use short range communication technologies such as radar and Lidar, which
    Read More
  • FCC grants Applied C-V2X licence
    November 2, 2022
    Maine is latest US state in which Applied Information will test C-V2X safety applications
    Read More

Highlighted Content