Intelligent transportation systems: techno-economic comparison of dedicated UHF, DSRC, Wi-Fi and LTE access networks: Case study of St. Petersburg, Russia

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are all types of communications in vehicles, between them and to infrastructure. ITS improve travelling experience through enhancements in safety, traffic efficiency and a wide range of entertainment services. This paper answers the question: how much does it cost to build and operate a dedicated Radio Access Network (RAN) for intelligent public transport? Investigated communication technologies are Ultra High Frequency (UHF) communications, Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) or 802.11p, 802.11n Wi-Fi and LTE. It is shown that the 802.11 standards feature the highest Capital and Operational Expenditures (CapEx and OpEx). In comparison with LTE, DSRC-based RAN causes 2.3 times higher upfront costs (CapEx) and 6.5 times higher annual operation costs (OpEx).