The United Kingdom — two documents, and neither works without the other.
The UK arrangement is unusually clean and unusually easy to cite incompletely. A statutory instrument removes the licence requirement for 5.9 GHz intelligent transport systems; it then makes that exemption conditional on an Ofcom interface requirement that carries every actual number. Quote either one alone and you have described half a rule.
SI 2023/243 removes the licence and then delegates every number.
The Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 were made by Ofcom on 2 March 2023 under sections 8(3) and 122(7) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006, and came into force on 23 March 2023. They revoke the 2011 ITS exemption regulations and insert a new regulation into the Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption) Regulations 2021.
What that inserted regulation does is narrow and precise. The establishment, installation and use of wireless telegraphy stations or apparatus within 5875 MHz to 5925 MHz is exempt from section 8(1) of the Act if three conditions all hold: the apparatus complies with the interface requirements in IR 2086 as published by Ofcom in March 2023; it does not cause or contribute to undue interference to any wireless telegraphy; and it is, or is part of, a safety-related intelligent transport system. The instrument defines an intelligent transport system for road transport only.
Two features are worth naming because they are easy to misreport. The regulation makes no distinction between vehicle-based and roadside apparatus — it speaks of stations and apparatus in the band, full stop. And it contains no power limit, no channel plan and no technology: every technical condition is carried by IR 2086, which is why quoting the statutory instrument alone describes half a rule.
IR 2086 v2.0 — power, mitigation, and no channel raster at all.
The current edition is Version 2.0, publication date March 2023 — the edition the statutory instrument names, and the edition Ofcom was publishing when this page was verified on 29 September 2026. Its document history records only one earlier version, 1.0 of April 2011.
- Band: 5875 to 5925 MHz. Radiocommunication service: mobile or fixed.
- Maximum mean transmit power: 23 e.i.r.p. dBm/MHz, with a maximum total transmit power of 33 dBm mean e.i.r.p. and a transmit power control range of at least 30 dB.
- Channel access and occupation: techniques to mitigate interference providing at least equivalent performance to those described in ETSI EN 302 571.
- Authorisation regime: licence exempt. Referenced standards: EN 302 571 and EN 302 665.
- Channelling: not applicable. Ofcom specifies no channel plan, so channelisation follows from whichever standard the equipment is built to rather than from the interface requirement.
The UK names no radio technology anywhere in either document. C-V2X and ITS-G5 are treated identically: what is regulated is the band, the power, the mitigation behaviour and the safety-related purpose.
One unresolved conflict, reported rather than smoothed over. IR 2086's own document-history table describes version 2.0 as “Amended to include 5805-5825 MHz”. That range appears nowhere in the requirement's technical table or anywhere else in the document, and SI 2023/243 exempts only 5875–5925 MHz. We have not asked Ofcom to reconcile the two and we do not guess at which is intended; the exempt band relied on here is the one both the statutory instrument and the technical table state.
The documents, one record each.
Each identifier links to its canonical record in the V2X standards library, where the edition, dates, band, access conditions and verification note are held once. Status and binding effect are separate: a published document is not automatically a legal requirement.
| Document | Title | Type | Status | Binding effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SI 2023/243 | The Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 | Spectrum | Published final | Mandatory |
| IR 2086 | Interface Requirement 2086 — Safety Related Applications of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) | Radio and access | Published final | Equipment condition |
Where this fits.
European Union
The harmonised band the UK arrangement sits alongside, and the 2026 amendment that widened its channels.
Germany
A member state that opened 40 MHz of the EU's 60, with an expiry date attached.
Spectrum
Every allocation in this catalogue, with band edges and power limits side by side.
Last reviewed: 29 September 2026. SI 2023/243 and IR 2086 v2.0 were both read at source on that date.
Questions this page answers.
Do I need a licence to operate V2X equipment in the UK?
Not if the conditions are met. The Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption) (Amendment) Regulations 2023, SI 2023/243, inserted a regulation exempting wireless telegraphy stations and apparatus in 5875–5925 MHz from section 8(1) of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006, provided the apparatus complies with Ofcom's IR 2086, does not cause or contribute to undue interference, and is or is part of a safety-related intelligent transport system.
What is the current version of IR 2086?
Version 2.0, publication date March 2023, which is the edition SI 2023/243 names and the edition Ofcom was publishing when this page was last verified on 29 September 2026. Its document history records version 1.0 from April 2011 as the only earlier edition.
What are the UK power limits for 5.9 GHz ITS?
IR 2086 gives a maximum mean transmit power of 23 e.i.r.p. dBm/MHz and a maximum total transmit power of 33 dBm mean e.i.r.p. with a transmit power control range of at least 30 dB, together with interference mitigation at least equivalent to the techniques in ETSI EN 302 571. It specifies no channel plan: channelling is recorded as not applicable.
Does the UK require C-V2X or ITS-G5?
Neither. Both SI 2023/243 and IR 2086 are technology-neutral and name no radio technology at all. The exemption turns on the band, the power limits, the interference-mitigation requirement and the safety-related ITS purpose.
Does the exemption cover roadside units as well as vehicles?
It draws no distinction. The inserted regulation exempts “wireless telegraphy stations or wireless telegraphy apparatus” within the band, subject to the same three conditions, without separating vehicle-based from roadside apparatus.
Last updated 2026-09-29 · Technical reference maintained by Ambimat Electronics, Ahmedabad, India. Corrections: neel.shah@ambimat.com