Standardised electronic toll collection (ETC) products are now available for all toll road operators. This development opens the way towards global integration and interoperability of toll collection systems. The European Standardisation Organisation (CEN) has established standards ENV 12253/97, ENV 12795/97, and ENV 12834/97 for Layers 1, 2, and 7, respectively for Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) systems. They will be implemented on the 5.8GHz radio frequency band, and simultaneously define the framework for link parameters and operations. Thus CEN has secured the supply of interoperable ETC systems with mass-produced components. The DSRC concept incorporates a set of well-defined International Standards, including ISO 14814 to 14816. A CEN-standardised system will be applied across the whole European Union (EU). Ecopoint has already been implemented as a standardised system in Austria, which is not ETC but has similar functional features. As from 1 January 1998, the Q-Free system began to apply automatic control of vehicles' status in Ecopoint at every border crossing into Austria. Other parts of the world, including China and Malaysia, will take advantage of progress in the EU. The new systems will supersede manual toll collection systems whose costs can exceed 30% of toll income.
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