Squire Sanders Advises on Standard for New Wireless Service Adopted by FCC

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17, 2003 -- Lawyers from the Washington, DC office of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. played a major role in the adoption of new standards that will govern wireless communication use for vehicles.

The Federal Communications Commission today adopted licensing and service rules for the new Intelligence Transportation Service employing dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) links. The DSRC service, which will be in the frequency band from 5.850-5.925 GHz, lets vehicles communicate with a variety of wireless access points and with each other.

The FCC action has significance for public safety, transportation and automobile manufacturers, said Squire Sanders lawyer Robert B. Kelly. He represents the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, which proposed the adoption of the new standard. Kelly, whose practice is unique in specializing in intelligent transportation systems, also represented ITS America in petitioning the FCC for the allocation of this frequency band.

ITS America advocated a single transmission standard to achieve national interoperability of DSRC services. The FCC agreed with ITS America and adopted the standard as proposed.

"It is not often that the FCC will adopt a standard for a service, but DSRC presents unique and compelling public benefits that support this requirement. This is a very important decision that will literally save lives by improving traffic and vehicle safety," Kelly said. Expected public safety use includes warning messages advising drivers of dangerous road conditions or upcoming work zones; signal light preemption for police, fire and emergency vehicles; and vehicle-to-vehicle collision avoidance and mitigation.

Robert B. Kelly is a partner in the communications practice of the Washington, DC office of Squire Sanders. He has practiced telecommunications and emerging technology law since 1981.

Kelly is a leading expert in legal issues associated with intelligent transportation systems, having served as counsel to the principal industry trade association for the past 12 years. He practices extensively in the areas of spectrum policy, allocation and assignment and represents wireless service providers and equipment manufacturers. Kelly is a co-author of the Spectrum Regulation Handbook (Thompson Publishing Group, 1994).

Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P., founded in 1890, is one of the largest international law firms with more than 700 lawyers who represent the interests of clients throughout the world. The firm's offices in the Americas include Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Palo Alto, Phoenix, San Francisco, Tampa, Tysons Corner, Washington DC and Rio de Janeiro. In Europe, offices are in Bratislava, Brussels, Budapest, London, Madrid, Milan, Moscow and Prague. In Asia, offices are in Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo. The firm also has an association with legal firms in Bucharest, Dublin and Kyiv.