IEEE 802.11p represents an adaptation of the IEEE 802.11 standard tailored specifically for vehicle-to-vehicle (car-to-car) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (car-to-roadside unit, or RSU) communications. This system is designed with the primary purpose of supporting Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS).

Given the high-speed nature of vehicles involved, IEEE 802.11p simplifies the authentication and authorization processes compared to the original IEEE 802.11 standard.

IEEE 802.11p operates within the frequency band spanning from 5.85 to 5.925 GHz