Auto, technology industries clash over talking cars

Automakers say cars that wirelessly talk to each other are finally ready for the road.


The cars hold the potential to dramatically reduce traffic deaths, improve the safety of self-driving cars and someday maybe even help solve traffic jams.

The government and the auto industry have spent more than a decade and more than $1 billion researching and testing the technology. It's known as vehicle-to-vehicle communications, or V2V.

But there's a big catch. Cable television and high-tech industries want to take away a large share of the radio spectrum that the government dedicated exclusively for the safety technology in 1999, and use it instead for superfast Wi-Fi service. Auto industry officials are fighting to hang onto as much of the spectrum as they can.

Explore further: Government wants to make cars talk to each other (Update)