What is DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication)?

Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) is an 802.11p-based wireless communication technology that enables highly secure, high-speed direct communication between vehicles and the surrounding infrastructure, without involving any cellular infrastructure. IEEE 802.11p is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11 standard that defines enhancements to support Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications.

DSRC operates in the 5.9 GHz band providing direct, low latency information exchange between vehicles and the infrastructure. In 2004, the FCC dedicated a bandwidth of 75 MHz for DSRC technology in the 5.9 GHz band.

DSRC provides a highly secure communication channel. The receiving vehicle validates the authenticity of the received messages and the messages aren’t linkable to the vehicle, thus protecting the driver's privacy. Every vehicle broadcasts its location, heading and speed 10 times per second in a secure and anonymous manner. All surrounding vehicles receive the message, and each estimates the risk imposed by the transmitting vehicle. This allows a perception, detection and assessment of dangerous situations (road obstacles and potential collisions with road users) even before they can be noticed visually.

Dedicated Short Range Communications have two operating modes:

• Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V)
• Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I)

DSRC can provide high-speed communication even in the presence of obstructions and can even handle fast-changing environment at speeds as high as 500 km/h. It is optimized to “see around corners” (Non-Line-Of-Sight) and operate in extreme weather conditions.