A U.S. appeals court has rejected a legal challenge to the 2020 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision to shift part of the 5.9-GHz band spectrum block from auto safety to wireless devices.

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials brought a legal challenge to reverse the 5.9-GHz band reallocation before the c.  

The FCC reserved the spectrum block in 1999 for automakers to develop technology that allowed vehicles to communicate and avoid crashes. To date, the industry hasn’t used the block.

At that time, the NCTA – The Internet & Television Association called the decision “an enormous victory for American consumers” that “enables that important 5.9-GHz spectrum to provide consumers with even more reliable, high-speed Wi-Fi and access to next-generation automotive safety applications."

But in 2020, the U.S. Transportation Department called the FCC plan “a particularly dangerous regulatory approach when public safety is at stake.”

The FCC then voted to shift 30 megahertz of the 75 megahertz reserved for Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) to an automotive communications technology called Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything, or C-V2X, while moving the remainder to Wi-Fi use.

Automakers opposed the split citing safety concerns, while major cable, telecom and content companies claimed the allocation was needed to support growing Wi-Fi use.

Government studies suggest the technology, if widely adopted in U.S. vehicles, could prevent over 600,000 crashes annually.