Government de-licensing of low-frequency bands to benefit Automotive Safety
The movement working towards improved automotive safety standards in India just got a shot in the arm. The government, in a recent ruling, has announced that it shall be de-licencing select low-frequency bands, thus paving the way for the automotive industry to improving safety.
Driver assistance systems have been gaining in both, popularity as well as acceptance, with radar-detection technology being the option of choice. However, features such as blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise-control, automatic-braking, lane departure warning systems, etc. were all being held back by auto-manufacturers in India. This is because these radar-based safety systems were all dependent on radio frequencies that were closely regulated by the government.
Manufacturers were therefore forced to disable them on (semi-knocked down) SKD & CBU (completely built units) models being sold in the country. Moreover, they couldn’t offer them on cars being exported from India either. This was severely restricting export prospects for car manufacturers and putting pressures on their earnings. Export-oriented brands such as Nissan-Renault, Hyundai, Volkswagen, etc. were but a few examples, of manufacturers hampered by the radio-frequency licensing restrictions.
The aggrieved auto-brands decided to work through the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers Association (SIAM), in starting discussions with the Government towards relaxation in favour of the automobile industry. India’s number one car manufacturer – Maruti Suzuki in particular and components major – Bosch were particularly instrumental in spearheading the dialogue. The de-licensing couldn’t have come at a better time for Maruti, who is all set to debut new-technologies, such as Automatic Emergency Braking System (AEBS) that relies on low-frequency radar to do its job. In-fact, the to-be-launched all-new Baleno hatchback is to feature such systems, and Maruti which is betting big on exporting the car to Europe and the Japan Domestic Market would have been most affected.
The de-licencing of frequencies, therefore, is a much-needed boost for the industry and the country on the whole. Manufacturers are now free to introduce advanced driver safety measures on cars sold in India, and this, in turn, should go a long way in bringing down our high accident rates on the streets. So all-in-all, this marks a huge win towards a safer motoring environment in India.
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