Electronic Code of Federal Regulations

Title 47: Telecommunication
PART 95—PERSONAL RADIO SERVICES

Subpart L—DSRCS On-Board Units

§95.3101   Scope.

This subpart contains rules that apply only to On-Board Units (OBUs) transmitting in the 5850-5925 MHz frequency band in the Dedicated Short-Range Communications Services (DSRCS) (see §90.371 of this chapter).

§95.3103   Definitions, OBUs.

Dedicated Short-range Communications Services (DSRCS). A service providing for data transfer between various mobile and roadside transmitting units for the purposes of improving traffic flow, highway safety and performing other intelligent transportation functions. See §90.7 of this chapter for a more detailed definition.

On-Board Unit (OBU). OBUs are low-power devices on vehicles that transfer data to roadside units in the Dedicated Short-Range Communications Service (see §§90.371-90.383 of this chapter), to improve traffic flow and safety, and for other intelligent transportation system purposes. See §90.7 of this chapter.

Roadside Unit (RSU). See §90.7 of this chapter.

§§95.3105-95.3129   [Reserved]

§95.3131   Permissible uses, OBUs.

On-Board Units (OBUs) may transmit signals to other OBUs and to Roadside Units (RSUs), which are authorized under part 90 of this chapter.

§§95.3133-95.3157   [Reserved]

§95.3159   OBU channel sharing and priority of use.

In general, the provisions of §§95.359, 95.325, and 95.327 apply to OBU operation, subject to the rules in this section governing access priority.

(a) Priority communications. OBU communications described in this paragraph are priority communications.

(1) OBU communications involving the safety of life have access priority over all other OBU communications.

(2) Subject to a Control Channel priority system management strategy (see ASTM E2213-03 DSRC Standard at §4.1.1.2(4)), OBU communications involving public safety have access priority over all other OBU communications except those involving safety of life. OBUs operated by state or local governmental entities are presumed to be engaged in public safety (priority) communications.

(b) Non-priority communications. All OBU communications other than those described in paragraph (a) are non-priority communications. Disputes concerning non-priority OBU communications associated with Roadside Units (RSUs) are governed by the provisions of §90.377(e) and (f) of this chapter. Disputes concerning non-priority OBU communications not associated with RSUs are governed by §§95.325, 95.327, and 95.359.

§95.3161   OBU transmitter certification.

(a) Each Dedicated Short Range Communications On-Board Unit IDSRCS-OBU) that operates or is intended to operate in the DSRCS must be certified in accordance with this subpart and subpart J of part 2 of this chapter.

(b) A grant of equipment certification for this subpart will not be issued for any OBU transmitter type that fails to comply with all of the applicable rules in this subpart.

§95.3163   OBU channels.

The following table lists the channels allotted for use by On-Board Units (OBUs):

(a) Channels 174 and 176 may be combined to create a 20 MHz bandwidth channel designated as Channel 175.

(b) Channels 180 and 182 may be combined to create a 20 MHz bandwidth channel designated as Channel 181.

(c) Channels 172 and 184 are designated for public safety applications involving safety of life and property.

§95.3165   [Reserved]

§95.3167   OBU transmit power limit.

The maximum output power for portable On-Board Unit transmitter types is 1.0 mW. For purposes of this paragraph, a portable is a transmitting device designed to be used so that the radiating structure(s) of the device is/are within 20 centimeters of the body of the user.

§§95.3169-95.3187   [Reserved]

§95.3189   OBU technical standard.

On-Board Unit transmitter types operating in the 5850-5925 MHz band must be designed to comply with the technical standard ASTM E2213-03, Standard Specification for Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between Roadside and Vehicle Systems—5 GHz Band Dedicated Short-range Communications (DSRC) Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications published 2003 (ASTM E2213-03). ASTM E2213-03 is incorporated by reference into this section with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. To enforce any edition other than that specified in this section, the Federal Communications Commission must publish a document in the Federal Register and the material must be available to the public. The material is available for inspection at the Federal Communications Commission's Reference Information Center, located at the address of the FCC's main office indicated in 47 CFR 0.401(a), Tel: (202) 418-0270, and may be obtained from ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, P.O. Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. http://www.astm.org. It is also available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202-741-6030 or go to http://www.archives.gov/federal__register/code__of__federal__regulations/ibr__locations.html.

[82 FR 41104, Aug. 29, 2017, as amended at 85 FR 64411, Oct. 13, 2020]

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