Japan, South Korea and Australia.
Three markets, three different starting positions: a country with a large legacy deployment on entirely different spectrum, a country that ran the comparison properly and then chose, and a country that permits both and charges nothing.
The only major market with substantial legacy V2X on entirely different spectrum.
ITS Connect launched in 2015 on the dedicated 760 MHz band for V2V and V2I safety, Toyota-led, fitted to Crown, Prius and Lexus models. ETC 2.0 at 5.8 GHz, DSRC-based, provides tolling and traffic information with a very large installed base.
On 9 February 2023 the MIC established a Study Group on Next-Generation ITS Communications for cooperative automated driving, covering use cases, V2X/V2N coordination with mobile networks, and spectrum allocation policy for 5.9 GHz. The MIC Frequency Reorganization Action Plan, FY2024 version, published 13 December 2024, states that assignment of frequencies for V2X communications with a maximum bandwidth of 30 MHz (5895–5925 MHz) should be considered, with frequency assignment targeted for completion by FY2026 and migration schemes for incumbents to be studied. Those band edges come from the action plan; they describe a plan, not a completed designation.
Engineering tests and technical demonstrations are running on the Shin-Tomei Expressway, with automated truck trials from 2024. Standardisation from 2026; practical implementation goal cited as 2030. The 760 MHz band continues in parallel.
The one market that ran the comparison properly and then chose.
On 12 December 2023 the Ministry of Science and ICT selected C-V2X — LTE-V2X Direct on PC5, complemented by network C-V2X — as the national C-ITS communication method, ending a long-running WAVE-versus-C-V2X standoff after extensive comparative field testing.
Spectrum: 20 MHz at 5855–5875 MHz allocated to LTE-V2X Direct since 2022, with 5875–5925 MHz (50 MHz) reserved for ITS expansion. Final technical regulation standards were released in June 2024. DSRC sunset: June 2027. Around 2,400 km of expressway is targeted for roadside-unit deployment.
Korean trade press has reported a very large budget cut to the national V2X programme. That is a single uncorroborated source and no figure is repeated here.
The lightest-touch regime among major markets.
ACMA designates 5.9 GHz for ITS and permits both DSRC and C-V2X under an ITS class licence — no individual licence, no fee — provided equipment complies with European C-ITS standards and ACMA technical equipment standards. This is a useful counterexample to India's proposed RSU authorisation model.
No binding national technology decision has been made. Commonwealth and state transport ministers have endorsed principles for a national framework only. On 26 March 2026 C-Roads publicly recognised Australia as having made C-ITS operational on C-Roads specifications, with Queensland as a C-Roads associated member. Austroads runs the Cooperative ITS Initiative. The C-Roads platform →
No confirmed 5.9 GHz safety-V2X decision in any of the three.
No primary regulatory sources could be located for any of these markets, so nothing specific is published here. Singapore's ITS activity runs through LTA's Smart Mobility 2030 and ERP 2.0 rather than a 5.9 GHz safety-V2X allocation. All three should be treated as having no confirmed V2X spectrum decision.
Where this fits.
Spectrum
Japan's planned band, Korea's allocation and Australia's class licence in one table.
DSRC vs C-V2X
The comparison Korea ran before choosing, and the sunset dates that followed.
EU regulation
The C-Roads specifications Australia has adopted.
Last reviewed: 17 August 2026. Japan's assignment is targeted for completion by FY2026 and Korea's DSRC sunset falls in June 2027.