Brussels, 29/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has announced that it has extended the authorisation to use the 24 GHz radio frequency band for short-range anti-collision radar in cars until 2018. This temporary extension will ensure short range car radar systems remain available on the market until manufacturers develop technology using the 79 GHz band, which was the operating frequency designated for such systems back in 2004. This initiative was taken to enhance road safety. “The Commission has removed a potential barrier to fitting collision avoidance radar into cars, and the car industry now has to take up the challenge to develop new systems”, said Commissioner Neelie Kroes, responsible for the Digital Agenda. Kroes takes the view that the widespread fitting of short range systems in cars could significantly enhance road safety for all road users and pedestrians.
In Europe, only 0.05% of cars, mainly luxury cars, are equipped with such radar systems, which currently all still use the 24 GHz band. Manufacturers have encountered difficulties in developing systems using the 79 GHz band, so that technology in the 79 GHz band has not developed as fast as initially predicted by the industry. As a result, 79 GHz technology is not mature enough for commercial deployment in cars by 2013, when the use of the 24 GHz band by these systems had been due to end. The European Commission devotes a large chapter of its Digital Agenda to the use of the radio spectrum, underlining the overriding need for European coordination in this respect, in order to ensure effective use and the correct operation of radio frequencies. The Commission put forward a proposal for a decision establishing a programme on radio spectrum policy in September 2010. The Council is expected to adopt a political agreement under the Polish Presidency of the EU Council on this. (I.L./transl.jl)