Achieving Interoperability With Dedicated Short Range Communication

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Highway Administration

[FHWA Docket No. 96-49]

Achieving Interoperability With Dedicated Short Range

Communication

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: With this notice the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is

requesting comments on three items of concern relating to the

implementation of dedicated short range communication (DSRC) systems

specified in the Intelligent Transportation Systems National

Architecture. These issues are as follows:

(1) Should the FHWA require that DSRC systems purchased with

Federal-aid highway funds and ITS Federal funds meet draft standard

specifications, such as that of the American Society for Testing

Materials (ASTM) proposed Draft #6 standard and the Committee for

European Normalisation (CEN) draft documents N473, N474, and N505 prior

to their formal adoption as industry standards in an effort to reduce

the proliferation of non-interoperable systems? Should the FHWA also

include message set requirements, such as the Commercial Vehicle

Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) Dedicated Short Range

Communications Interface Requirements of April 2, 1996 (Johns Hopkins

University-Applied Physics Lab)? Should compliance with specific draft

standards be required for Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO)

applications only; for both CVO and Electronic Toll and Traffic

Management (ETTM) applications; or for CVO, ETTM, and additional

applications?

(2) Should the FHWA require that DSRC systems purchased with

Federal-aid highway funds and ITS Federal funds meet an escalating

interoperability formula? An example would be that first, all CVO

applications must be nationally interoperable; second, all new (after

specified date) and upgrading electronic toll collection systems and

other DSRC applications must be interoperable with CVO applications.

(3) Should a single standard be developed for all applications, or

should separate standards be developed with an assumption that trucks

and buses, and perhaps other users, would likely require separate

technology to perform those functions?

DATES: The FHWA requests comments by February 1, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Submit written, signed comments to FHWA Docket No. 96-49,

Room 4232, HCC-10, Office of the Chief Counsel, Federal Highway

Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, D.C. 20590. All

comments received will be available for examination at the above

address from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday,

except Federal holidays. Those desiring notification of receipt of

comments must include a self-addressed, stamped postcard.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael P. Onder, Intelligent

Transportation Systems Joint Program Office, (202) 366-2639; Ms.

Beverly M. Russell, Office of Chief Counsel, (202) 366-1355, Federal

Highway Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, D.C.

20590. Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15, e.t., Monday through

Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

In the 1980's a novel approach to facilitating transportation

developed. The dedicated short range communication (DSRC) industry, as

it came to be known, utilized radio frequency systems to facilitate

hands-off data communication between vehicles and electronic reading

devices on the roadside. This application of communications technology

to transportation has enabled motorists to pay highway tolls and

commercial motor vehicles to clear weigh stations and ports of entry

without stopping. The main hardware components of the DSRC system

consist of a transponder, or tag, mounted on a vehicle, communicating

wirelessly with a roadside reading device. The transponder, or tag,

stores at a minimum a unique ID number that is received by the reading

device and is matched to a corresponding record on a computer system

that identifies the vehicle/container/rolling stock and its associated

records. The benefits derived from installation of this new technology

reflect a significant return on investment; especially in the toll and

fleet management business.

The Department of Transportation's Intelligent Transportation

Systems (ITS) program was established by Congress in the Intermodal

Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) (Pub. L. 102-240,

105 Stat. 1914). In the ISTEA, Congress directed the Department to

develop and implement standards and protocols to promote widespread use

of ITS. See Pub. L. 102-240, Sec. 6053(b), 105 Stat. at 2190 (as

codified at 23 U.S.C. 307 note). A precursor to the development of

standards has been the formation of a National System Architecture

which provides a framework that describes how system components should

work and interact. A system architecture addresses how system data

flows, how various traffic and traveler information message formats are

structured, how electrical interfaces are formed, and which

communication system mediums are used for data transmission. The

Department began an intensive ITS National Architecture Program in

December 1994, and concluded with 29 user services in July, 1996. The

29 user

[[Page 792]]

services have been defined to date as part of the national planning and

architectural development process. A 30th user service (Highway-Rail

Intersection) has recently been defined and is now being included in

the national architectural process. The National Architecture envisions

a transportation system in which DSRC is the favored method of wireless

communication for Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) and for

Electronic Toll and Traffic Management (ETTM) applications. The

objectives of CVO services are to increase productivity of commercial

vehicle regulatory agencies and commercial vehicle operators, and to

enhance the safety of CVO drivers and vehicles. Examples of CVO

services include automated permit and registration acquisition, vehicle

performance monitoring, and hazardous materials incident response. ETTM

allows drivers to pay highway tolls without stopping, and allows

traffic managers to use transponders as probes in high traffic volume

areas to facilitate incident detection.

Application of DSRC

The largest installed base of DSRC systems are in electronic toll

collection (ETC) systems. The northeastern region of the United States,

where nearly two-thirds of all tolls in the United States are

collected, has electronic toll collection systems in place from

Virginia to Maine. ETC systems are also in place in California, Texas,

Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, and Florida. Upcoming ETC systems

are planned for widespread use in such high travel areas as the

Maryland, Illinois, and Indiana tollways and the Pennsylvania, Ohio,

and Florida turnpikes. None of the electronic toll facilities are

interoperable with regard to reciprocity in collecting tolls.

Relatively few are interoperable in terms of either utilizing the same

transponder devices or having a common reading device that could read

different transponders. Recent procurement requests from Maryland and

Florida have addressed regional interoperability. Today there are

several hundred thousand transponders in use on tollways. In the near

future there are expected to be several million transponders in use.

The problems caused by this lack of standards and interoperability will

grow in intensity as demand and usage grow.

Commercial Vehicle Operations do not have as large an installed

base of transponders as ETC. Currently there are two major areas of

operations in the United States where heavy vehicles are cleared

electronically as they pass weigh stations. These are the I-75 corridor

in the Mid-West and the I-5, I-8, and I-10 corridors on the West Coast.

The I-75 corridor, under the Advantage CVO Project, has 29 sites

electronically linked from Florida through Ontario to allow for non-

stop clearance of commercial vehicles as they are weighed at highway

speeds. The three corridors on the West Coast comprise the HELP, Inc.

Pre-Pass system which operates in a similar fashion to the Advantage

CVO Project. Soon to be installed are CVO DSRC systems along the I-95

corridor from Virginia to Maine. Both Idaho and Utah also have

installed electronic clearance systems, and the State of Washington is

in the process of implementing such a program. In addition, DSRC

systems are currently being installed in four international border

crossing sites at Otay Mesa, California, Nogales, Arizona, Buffalo, New

York, and Detroit, Michigan. In the planning stages for installation of

DSRC equipment are the Laredo and El Paso, Texas and the Blaine,

Washington border crossings, as well as sites in seven model deployment

states for CVISN. Interoperability tests have been done successfully

between Advantage CVO and HELP, Inc. with equipment that is compatible

with the ASTM draft #6 proposed standard. Requirements for

interoperability are in place; letters of agreement, have been used to

ensure that only equipment that is compatible with the ASTM draft #6

proposed standard be used at the border crossing sites and in the model

deployment States. However, a major growth of DSRC systems is also

expected with CVO projects, and the problem of non-seamless

transportation between DSRC sites will only be exacerbated without

interoperability standards.

Problem

The problem is that DSRC standards governing the wireless

communication between the transponder and reader, and the message sets

on the transponder, do not exist. Therefore, interoperability does not

exist between the equipment of different manufacturers.

Interoperability, in this case, is the ability of a roadside reading or

interrogation device of one manufacturer to meaningfully process the

data from any given transponder mounted in a vehicle. Over the past six

years, the DSRC industry has been unable to agree upon a path for

standardizing DSRC at levels one and two of the International Standards

Organization's Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) reference model, which

deals with the air interface and the physical properties of the system.

During the same time frame, the FHWA has been developing the

architecture for CVO and other ITS Programs. This development has

matured to the point that the FHWA is ready to initiate seven model

deployments of CVISN and the Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure

in four major metropolitan areas to test the system under operational

conditions. In order for the fundamental concept of wireless vehicle to

roadside communication to be viable for commercial fleets, it is

essential that interoperability exist nationwide. Therefore, the FHWA

believes it must insist that model deployments be interoperable with

each other. If the industry stalemate continues, the FHWA may be forced

to seek a process to stop the proliferation of non-interoperable DSRC

systems. To continue to allow Federal funds to be invested in non-

compatible systems will exacerbate the problem. As a result, unless the

DSRC industry can identify a solution to non-interoperability

immediately, the FHWA will be forced to find an interoperability

solution that will not only support the near term deployment, but also

the long term expanded deployments that are expected to be utilizing

Federal-aid funds.

Solicitation for Public Comment

In the House report accompanying the 1996 DOT appropriations bill,

the Committee on Appropriations explicitly stated that the Department

should require that Federally supported ITS operations tests be

consistent and compatible with the National Architecture to promote

interoperability. H.R. Rep. No. 177, 104th Cong., 1st Sess. (1995). In

the spirit of that requirement, this notice is being issued to solicit

public comment on the following issues.

(1) Should the FHWA require that DSRC systems purchased with

Federal- aid highway funds and ITS Federal funds meet draft standard

specifications, such as that of the American Society for Testing

Materials (ASTM) proposed Draft #6 standard and the Committee for

European Normalisation (CEN) draft documents N473, N474, and N505 prior

to their formal adoption as industry standards in an effort to reduce

the proliferation of non-interoperable systems? Should the FHWA also

include message set requirements, such as the Commercial Vehicle

Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) Dedicated Short Range

Communications Interface Requirements of April 2, 1996 (Johns Hopkins

University-Applied Physics Lab)? Should compliance with specific

[[Page 793]]

draft standards be required for Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO)

applications only; for both CVO and Electronic Toll and Traffic

Management (ETTM) applications; or for CVO, ETTM, and additional

applications?

The FHWA must continue to meet schedules for deployment of ITS

projects using DSRC as the communications medium. Our understanding is

that at least two competing products exist that comply with the open

architecture of ASTM draft #6. On the other hand, it is also our

understanding that the European standard (CEN) is not used in any

products available in the United States that use the 902-928 MHz

spectrum. To disrupt the project schedules could have a severely

detrimental effect on the ITS program. Although we desire to minimize

any detrimental effect on the program, we also understand the need of

the industry to set the DSRC standards. Our strongest desire is for

standards to be set that will best serve the users and the industry. It

is not our intention to institute a standards process that would not be

agreeable to the industry and users.

(2) Should the FHWA require that DSRC systems purchased with

Federal- aid highway funds and ITS Federal funds meet an escalating

interoperability formula? An example would be that first, all CVO

applications must be nationally interoperable; second, all new (after

specified date) and upgrading ETC systems must be interoperable with

CVO applications; third, all other new (after specified date) and

upgrading DSRC applications must be interoperable with CVO

applications?

Nationwide interoperability is critical for the efficient operation

of vehicles using DSRC equipment transiting the nation, especially

commercial vehicles. As such, it is imperative that CVO programs be

built with a national focus. ETC programs, on the other hand, are

focused on regional travel, and its customers may not be very concerned

about interoperability outside the local travel area, with exception to

commercial carriers. The same regional emphasis may hold true with

other DSRC applications, like in-vehicle signing or transit vehicle

signal priority, parking payments, and traffic network performance

monitoring. It may not be practical to immediately hold all users of

DSRC equipment to a single national standard. Instead, a course of

action to achieve national interoperability may be to include a

migration plan that requires CVO applications to adhere to a national

DSRC standard, followed by DSRC applications with regional emphasis. A

best fit date can be specified for new and upgrading regional

projects to begin adherence with the national standard.

(3) Should a single standard be developed for all DSRC

applications, or should separate standards be developed with an

assumption that trucks and buses, and perhaps other users, would likely

require separate technology to perform those functions?

The FHWA recognizes that CVO and ETTM applications, as well as

other DSRC applications, have different requirements that have also

shaped the design and operation of the equipment. While it may be

desirable to have a single standard, it may not be practical. The FHWA

is requesting comments on whether the agency should pursue the single

standard approach, encourage the development of dual standards (one for

the short term and one for the long term), or sponsor dual standards

for the short term and pursue single standards for the next generation

of DSRC?

The FHWA is looking to the industry and users to come to some

agreement as to DSRC standards for both the short term (1-3 years) and

the long term (4-10 years). The FHWA has demonstrated its willingness

to assist in this process by funding standards development

organizations for this purpose. The solution to this problem must be

sought together through a team effort by all of the stakeholders. The

successful implementation of the ITS model deployments is not possible

without a demonstrated willingness on the part of all parties to seek a

solution through the established standard setting processes. The FHWA

has further demonstrated its willingness to pursue a solution by

funding a contractor to meet one-on-one with purchasers and

manufacturers of DSRC equipment to develop a concept of operations, a

migration plan, and a draft memorandum of agreement between purchasers

of DSRC equipment. The FHWA has also been participating in all

discussions sponsored by ITS America that have been taking place

between users and manufacturers. We are now looking for the industry to

do its part. The FHWA would prefer that the industry set the necessary

standards through the consensus building process that the FHWA is

sponsoring. In the meantime, the FHWA is seeking comments on how it can

most effectively administer the ITS programs, that rely on DSRC

systems, without the necessary standards in place.

Authority: Pub. L. 102-240, Sec. 6053(b) (as codified at 23

U.S.C. 307 note); 49 CFR 1.48.

Issued on: December 24, 1996.

Rodney E. Slater,

Federal Highway Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97-172 Filed 1-3-97; 8:45 am]

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