MWC 2018: 5GAA Gaining Speed Toward C-V2X Commercialization

BARCELONA, Spain, March 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) presented - during a session at the Mobile World Congress 2018 - the acceleration of C-V2X technology implementation through the widespread support of leading telecommunications and automotive companies. This advanced technology will serve as the lynchpin that will create a connected vehicle ecosystem and enable future mobility solutions.  

The value of C-V2X technology lies in the fact that it is a unified technology - it can provide short-range and long-range communications. C-V2X technology can, for example, alert drivers of a cyclist around the corner or a traffic jam that is 25 kilometers away.

Christoph Voigt, 5GAA Chairman and Head of R&D Connectivity at Audi announced that: "This effort is now 'all hands on deck', meaning that telecommunications and automotive leaders are all working hand-in-hand to deploy C-V2X and to make it hit the road as soon as possible."

During its session, 5GAA focused on the growing support that C-V2X technology is enjoying among leading companies in the telecommunications and automotive industries and presented the importance that 5G cellular technology will play in enabling smart mobility of the future.

C-V2X gains wide ecosystem support 

During the presentation, 5GAA members Qualcomm and Huawei emphasized the growing C-V2X ecosystem support and presented their integrated chipsets that will enable C-V2X commercialization. The start of C-V2X mass market series deployment is predicted to begin as early as 2019/2020.

"We see a growing appetite across the industry for the commercialization of our C-V2X chipset with automakers, Tier-1 suppliers, cellular module manufacturers, ITS providers, integrators, and automakers ready to drive change," said Jason Ellis, Director of Automotive Business Development at Qualcomm.

Veni Shone, President of LTE product line at Huawei, highlighted that the momentum of C-V2X in China is encouraging - ministries have put their full support behind C-V2X technology on strategy and standardization. Mr. Shone also detailed Huawei's commitment to accelerate C-V2X, specifically pointing at the releases of its LTE-V2X chipset, T-box prototype, and roadside units.

5GAA plans to support and advocate the work of this technology by speeding up the deployment of C-V2X for the automotive sector while creating a joint ecosystem and implementing key functionalities such as vehicle-to-smart-device.

5G as an enabler for life-saving solutions & new business applications 

5GAA members Ericsson and Ford also highlighted exciting use cases and growing business applications for 5G technology in the automotive sector.

Don Butler, Executive Director of Connected Vehicles and Services at Ford stated that: "Creating safer and more personalized journeys through automated driving is the long-term vision of mobility's future. We believe 5G will enable this by maximizing the in-vehicle experience thanks to high reliability, fast-paced communications. We will create new, compelling experiences and capabilities saving more lives with patient transport monitoring or teleoperated driving."

With the advancement of 5G technology and its application to connected vehicles, the amount of data created will continue to expand exponentially.

Stefano Sorrentino, Master Researcher at Ericsson presented the fact that: "Connected & automated driving will lead to a data explosion that will definitely challenge the network capacities. This challenge could be remedied through the deployment of scalable and integrated networks and cloud architectures as well as the continuous evolution of radio technology into 5G."

"We think of 5G as an end-to-end solution starting with the wireless connectivity but also including edge computing, the transport network, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Together they power the applications and the services for intelligent transportation and smart mobility, and ultimately, the ways humans interact with connected and self-driving cars of the future. It is an exciting area for 5GAA to work on and we invite any stakeholder to join us and contribute on this journey." concluded Thierry Klein, Head of Disruptive Innovation Program at Nokia Bell Labs and Vice Chair of 5GAA Board.

About 5GAA 

The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) is a global cross-industry organization of companies from the automotive, technology and telecommunications industries (ICT), working together to develop end-to-end solutions for future mobility and transportation services. Created in 2016, the Association is comprised of over 75 members whose mission is to develop, test and promote communications solutions, initiate their standardisation and accelerate their commercial availability and global market penetration, to address society's connected mobility and road safety needs with applications such as automated driving, ubiquitous access to services and integration into smart city and intelligent transportation.  For more information please visit 5gaa.org

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