5GAA

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 11 hazard information-sharing and several basic safety applications. A major milestone was achieved in 2017 with the completion of LTE- V2X in ‘Release 14’, with both PC5 and Uu delivering basic safety use cases. Then in 2020, 5G-V2X was completed (Release 16), covering advanced and automated driving use cases. 5G-enabled vehicles, meanwhile, have entered the market and connectivity has been acknowledged as an enabler by new car assessment programmes worldwide (e.g. local hazard warnings in Euro-NCAP 2023). In China, 5GAA Members including General Motors, Ford and several Chinese automakers have launched, or soon plan to introduce, advanced C-V2X functionality in models using LTE-V2X. Meanwhile in Europe, the market is converging towards 5G-V2X. Traffic efficiency use cases – addressing the likes of urban congestion, pollution/emissions, and green targets – are broadly on track, according to the Roadmap. But more mission-critical applications related to safety “have experienced different regional development and deployments”. Wider efforts to instal trans-European corridors for driverless cars on public roads and improve road safety for drivers, passengers and other road users received a boost last year, thanks to the EU’s Vehicle General Safety Regulation. Tighter alignment between stakeholders, including road operators seeking to digitalise road infrastructure and smart cities, is set to feature in future 5GAA Releases, according to the 5GAA Roadmap. Moving forward… Further progress calls for greater cooperation between mobile network operators and continued developments to guarantee connectivity – especially across borders and during complex network handovers. More reliable connectivity also means reducing/ eliminating signal dark spots (i.e. in remote 5GAA areas and crowded skylines) and reaching agreement on dedicated bandwidths for C-V2X applications like automated driving. In the US, for example, it is expected that the FCC 5.9 GHz band ruling will eventually be adopted: “This is a big decision and a game-changer for US-based 5GAA members looking to deploy C-V2X use cases, because it paves the way for mass market deployment of LTE-V2X in that band,” says John Kwant. Members are also working on a clear path for advanced 5G developments, enabling the next set of use cases and a new roadmap release. Complementary work in ERTRAC’s CCAM Roadmap, the UK’s Zenzic Testbed, and initiatives by SAE, ICV, and Car-2-Car – will continue to inform future 5GAA’s actions covering connected, intelligent, and autonomous driving. BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE