NEW DELHI: Aiming to prevent road crashes caused by vehicles coming from the wrong direction, blind curves, collisions at under-construction sites, or vehicles falling into pits, the telecom department will de-license a spectrum band next month for the rollout of Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communication systems.
In January, a software engineer died after his car fell into an unmarked, water-filled pit in Noida due to a lack of barricading or visible warning. This incident is one of several cases where vehicles have crashed into under-construction structures.
TOI has learned that at a meeting held on April 20, the Supreme Committee on Road Safety directed the telecom department to de-license the 5.875-5.925 GHz band. The spectrum will be open for use by all stakeholders as per pre-prescribed conditions. Road transport ministry officials informed the Supreme Committee that norms for V2V will be notified by December, and vehicle manufacturers have begun work on using this frequency in their systems, according to the meeting minutes.
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems in vehicles may also use this frequency in the future. In the V2V communication system, the device will automatically detect approaching vehicles for preventive action by drivers. In the V2I system, sensors installed with infrastructure, such as signal and power poles, bridge edges, and barricaded areas, will alert vehicles.
The Supreme Court panel has asked the ITS India Forum and vehicle manufacturers association SIAM to discuss and coordinate with stakeholders to roll out safety features using this frequency band within six months.
