Commercial Mobile Radio Services (CMRS) for ITS Public Safety

FHWA is completing the field assessment of several new CMRS. Each offers notably better performance than Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) – a service commonly used by transportation and public safety agencies, but an older service that will soon be phased out due to FCC regulatory action. This new study provides useful information about the alternatives to CDPD and will serve as a guide to those agencies considering new mobile data services.

To support the recent field studies, a wireless communications and mobile computing laboratory was developed. While initially used to study CMRS, this new facility was designed to support a variety of technology assessment, concept prototyping, and systems integration efforts. This includes activities related to FHWA field operational tests and demonstration projects.

Alternative Technologies for VII Backhaul Communication

FHWA is currently studying alternative technologies that can be used to provide communication between VII RSUs and various centralized facilities. These technologies include IEEE 802.16, 802.20, 802.22, various meshed networking solutions, power line communications (PLC), free space optics (FSO), and point-to-point communication in E-band ( 70-90 GHz).

Other Research

• Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and the Application of IP-based services within the ITS Domain. This research includes the development of a SIP test-bed.
• Examining Wireless Technologies for Use by Public Transit