The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Thursday has released a consultation paper on the Regulatory Framework for Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Communication for which it is seeking comments from the stakeholders on evolving standards.
The government plans to allocate 30 MHz in the 5875-5905 MHz spectrum band for V2X, with 20 MHz reserved for future use. Spectrum management involves licensing, authorisation, and pricing, with a focus on interference control and evolving standards.
V2X enables vehicles to wirelessly exchange real-time information with every relevant element of their environment, including other vehicles (V2V or vehicle-to-vehicle), roadside infrastructure such as traffic signals and toll booths (V2I), vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists (V2P), and the broader cellular network (V2N).
Public Safety
“V2X technology was traditionally implemented in many parts of the world using the Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) standard. More recently, the Cellular V2X (C-V2X) standard has been gaining global prominence as the preferred framework for enabling V2X communication,” TRAI said.
The development comes after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), through its letter dated December 1, 2025, requested TRAI to provide recommendations under the terms of clause 11(1)(a) of the TRAI Act 1997 (as amended) on the regulatory mechanism for V2X, it said.
TRAI noted that internationally, the spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band for Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and V2X communications is assigned in a manner that reflects its public safety and non-commercial character. Across jurisdictions, the dominant approach is to assign such spectrum through administrative or license-exempt frameworks, with pricing methodologies aligned to cost-recovery principles or zero-fee regimes.
Authorisation Regulations
Therefore, through this consultation paper, TRAI intends to receive comments on whether there is a need to introduce an authorisation for vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication service under Section 3(1)(a) of the Telecommunications Act, 2023; eligibility conditions for the authorisation; period of validity of the authorisation and conditions for its renewal, etc.
Also, whether there is a need for prescribing a security framework for ITS/ C-V2X in India and if yes, what should be the security framework for ITS/ C-V2X?; which agency (like Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology) should implement the public key infrastructure (PKI) framework for ITS/ C-V2X in India.
The regulator has sought written comments on the issues by May 28 and counter-comments by June 11.
Published on April 30, 2026