Broadband India Forum (BIF) has heartily welcomed the government’s landmark decision to delicense 30 MHz of spectrum in the globally harmonised 5.9 GHz band for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, describing it as a transformative step towards improving road safety, reducing traffic fatalities and enabling the next generation of connected mobility solutions in India.
BIF lauded the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for taking a progressive and forward-looking decision aligned with global best practices and internationally harmonised standards for intelligent transportation systems and vehicular communications.
The decision comes at a time when India continues to face one of the world’s most serious road safety challenges. According to official estimates, the country records over 0.46 million road accidents and nearly 0.17 million fatalities annually, resulting in an enormous human, social and economic burden on the nation. The financial burden of road accidents has been estimated at 3.14 per cent of the nation’s GDP. This represents billions of rupees lost annually, not just in terms of medical expenses and property damage, but also in terms of lost productivity, income inequalities, rehabilitation efforts, and the deep impact on families who lose their breadwinners. Reducing accidents through technology-enabled prevention mechanisms can therefore generate substantial economic as well as societal benefits.
V2V communications, based on globally harmonised 3GPP standards, enable real-time exchange of safety-critical information between vehicles, including speed, direction, location, braking status, collision risks and hazardous road conditions. Such direct communication between vehicles through V2V systems facilitates drivers and automated safety systems to detect dangers well beyond the driver’s line of sight. This helps provide crucial additional reaction time that can help prevent accidents and save lives.
The delicensing of the 5.9 GHz band is expected to accelerate deployment of a broad range of safety-enhancing applications, including collision avoidance systems, emergency braking alerts, blind-spot warnings, intersection safety systems, vulnerable road-user protection and other advanced driver assistance technologies. Importantly, several Indian automobile manufacturers have already begun integrating On-Board Units (OBUs) capable of operating in this band, making the Government’s decision both timely and critical for supporting the V2V technology deployment in the country.
Supporting this progressive step, president, BIF, said, “This decision is not merely about spectrum policy; it is fundamentally about saving lives, especially at a time when India is witnessing an unacceptably high number of road accidents and fatalities. Delicensing this band for V2V will accelerate adoption of advanced safety technologies by automobile manufacturers, strengthen India’s connected mobility ecosystem, reduce the enormous socio-economic burden of road accidents and support the development of intelligent transportation systems that are essential for the future of mobility. The benefits will extend far beyond the automotive sector and contribute significantly to public safety, economic productivity and national welfare.”
