(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/Csaba Toth)

An auto industry group has called on President Barack Obama to not change the plan for dedicated short range communication (DSRC) aimed at safer roads that requires setting apart the 5.9 GHz spectrum band towards this end. More than 50 entities signed the letter, including the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Carnegie Mellon University – University Transportation Center, and the National Sheriffs Association.

The appeal comes as a group of technology companies, including Qualcomm and Intel, sent a letter to President Obama that commended his support for opening up underutilized spectrum and urging him to provide the leadership needed to get the FCC and Department of Transportation to finalize a sharing framework for the 5.9 GHz spectrum band.

The letter from the auto industry said: “Changing the DSRC rules and ecosystem at this late stage would be an enormous setback for highway safety and delay the deployment of DSRC, thereby significantly limiting the potential of this technology to reduce injuries and fatalities on our roads. Those asking for delay seek to reconfigure the 5.9 GHz DSRC band in a way that would impair safety-critical applications and jeopardize their public benefits.”

However, Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Project as part of New America's Open Technology Institute, said: “Their letter ignores the fact that this unused band is big enough to deploy – and protect – both crash avoidance safety applications and next generation Wi-Fi that can enable faster and more affordable wireless Internet access in classrooms, public places and the connected home. A win-win outcome for consumers is clearly possible here if the White House forces DOT to work with FCC to share the band for both safety and broadband.”

Do you agree with the group of automakers? Share your thoughts in the comments.