The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) has recently filed a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) presenting the content of its band plan for the 5.9 GHz band.

The filing, which was submitted last 3^rd April, positions C-V2X as the best opportunity to further the vision of ITS in the 5.9 GHz band, outlining that the FCC should pursue a forward-looking approach for licensed ITS operations in the 5.9 GHz band towards facilitating the evolution path towards 5G.

Moreover, the filing also follows-up on 5GAA’s waiver request, filed with the objective of enabling initial deployments of this potentially life-saving technology as soon as possible.

Just on February major stakeholders from the automobile, wireless, and technology industries filed comments to the FCC in support of the 5G Automotive Association’s waiver request seeking permission to deploy Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology in a portion of the 5.9 GHz band.

The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) is happy to announce its participation to SAE WCX™ World Congress Experience taking place from 9 to 11 April 2019.

WCX™ World Congress Experience is a mobility industry’ annual event for forward-thinking engineers, executives, OEMs, suppliers, decision-makers, disruptors and the entire spectrum of the mobility-engineering field. Experience three days of expert-led technical education, peer-to-peer networking, a technology-driven exhibit floor and global mobility solutions that are shifting the marketplace. From IoT, Big Data and connectivity to automated and unmanned vehicles, and from safety, blockchain and powertrain to sustainability and cybersecurity, WCX covers every corner of the industry.

5GAA will be present at SAE WCX and be involved in different sessions on Wednesday 10 April 2019:

• C2C Cloud and Car Enabled Digital Services panel discussion with CTO Maxime Flament – 2:10 to 3:20 pm
• Learning Lab C-V2X use on the road for safety and efficiency – Exhibition Floor, 3:30 to 3:50 pm
• Learning Lab C-V2X momentum and commercial readiness – Exhibition Floor, 4:00 to 4:20 pm

You can also find 5GAA and meet up at our lounge located in the Connect 2 Car Pavilion, n°1307 (map available here).

For more information, please contact marcom@5gaa.org

GCF certification programme addresses market needs for LTE-based V2V and V2X communications technologies.

The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) and Global Certification Forum (GCF) have agreed a collaborative framework under which they will combine their resources and expertise to accelerate the global introduction of Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) products. The new partnership aims to address the current gap in certification capabilities and processes, thereby harmonizing C-V2X at a global level and reducing the time-to-market of C-V2X products.

C-V2X is set to become a disruptive forward-looking force in the automotive market, providing the platform which will enable vehicles to communicate with each other and with everything around them. Originally defined as LTE V2X in 3GPP Release 14, C-V2X provides one solution for integrated V2V, V2I and V2P and V2N operation. The shorter-range V2V, V2I and V2P modes support direct communication without necessarily relying on network involvement for scheduling, whilst the longer range V2N mode will deliver network assistance and commercial services requiring the involvement of a Mobile Network Operator (MNO). The data throughputs and latencies provided by 5G are critical to the performance of autonomous vehicle applications and hence C-V2X is designed to be fully compatible with 5G technologies.

With the C-V2X specifications due to be finalised in 3GPP Release 16, car manufacturers and their suppliers in the key markets of the USA, Asia and Europe have been working on products which will come to market in 2019.

“We are extremely pleased to partner with GCF as a further step towards safe and successful C-V2X deployment,” said Maxime Flament, CTO at 5GAA. “This aligns perfectly with our mission to accelerate the global deployment of intelligent transport and communications solutions and make transportation of the future safer and more reliable.”

“As always, with the introduction of new and disruptive technology, standards and certification are critical to ensuring successful deployment,” said Lars Nielsen, General Manager at GCF. “Our partnership with 5GAA means that together we are achieving the evolution into 5G with a proven success factor for self-driving and connected vehicles.”

The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) is a global, cross-industry organisation bridging the gap between automotive, technology and telecom industries, promoting the C-V2X technology (Cellular vehicle-to-everything) as a comprehensive platform for connected vehicles, safety and transportation. With 110 members, the organisation is committed to helping define and develop the next generation of connected mobility and automated vehicle solutions.

The GCF certification scheme has been running since 1999 and has constantly evolved in alignment with developments in mobile technologies and the changing needs of the industry. GCF’s certification portfolio already covers LTE sidelink, a key technology for automotive applications, supporting vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) use cases, and GCF is therefore the natural partner for 5GAA on C-V2X certification.

The framework agreed by the two organisations will enable 5GAA and GCF to work together to ensure the certification needs of the C-V2X industry are identified and prioritised and that test cases and associated capabilities are developed in-line with the needs of this rapidly emerging market.

For more information on GCF see: https://www.globalcertificationforum.org

All presentations of the 5GAA session at MWC19 Barcelona are available down this page.

February 27th, Barcelona – During today’s well attended keynote, ‘Connecting the Mobility World with 5G’, the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) gathered experts from the automotive, technology and telecom industries to explain how the deployment of ‘Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything’ (C-V2X) communication technology on the path to 5G is shaping the mobility of the future. Today LTE-V2X, the initial version of C-V2X, stands on the verge of its commercial launch: allowing vehicles to communicate with each other and their surroundings and, together with 5G enhancements, facilitating broad scale improvements in road safety.

“By bringing together key actors of the mobility ecosystem – across the automotive, information and communications technology industries – 5GAA continuously strives to develop forward-looking solutions for intelligent transportation services. Both for today and tomorrow.” stressed Thierry Klein, 5GAA Vice Chair and Head of the Disruptive Innovation Program at Nokia Bell Labs. “These end-to-end integrated solutions bring enhanced safety, sustainability, and convenience to all road users. 5GAA is very excited to be pioneering the revolution towards a smarter and more connected mobility world,” Thierry Klein added.

C-V2X communication is the state-of-the-art, high-speed cellular communications platform that enables vehicles to communicate with one another, with roadside infrastructure, with other road users (such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists) using either direct short-range communications or cellular networks. While C-V2X network-based solutions are already widely deployed, direct communication solutions will be commercially available as of this year. As such the C-V2X platform delivers safety, mobility, traffic efficiency, and environmental benefits. C-V2X is designed with an evolutionary path to 5G and supports safe and efficient operations of autonomous vehicles.

5GAA members spearheading C-V2X

A number of 5GAA members are announcing ground breaking use cases at this year’ MWC. 5GAA members Telefónica, Ericsson, Ficosa and Seat show 5G connected car use cases supported by C-V2X direct communication for safer driving in a city (e.g. detection of cyclists when turning right or of a pedestrian at a zebra crossing). Another key technology bringing these use cases to life is edge computing.

In addition, 5GAA members Continental and Vodafone are working together to increase road safety and protect all road users for instance via “digital safety-shield” for cyclists and pedestrians, using C-V2X direct communication and edge computing in the first 5G deployments. The 5G-ready tests are taking place under real-life conditions at Vodafone’s 5G Mobility Lab in Aldenhoven, Germany.

Rohde & Schwarz has announced a collaboration with automotive electronics specialist Vector on a C-V2X end-to-end application layer test solution to verify safety-critical V2X scenarios. The companies’ integrated test platform is showcased for the first time at Mobile World Congress.

Deutsche Telekom has announced first C-V2X tests together with Skoda Auto in Czech as part of the European C-Roads project.

Geely also announced its plans to launch the first mass-produced C-V2X enabled vehicles in China together with Qualcomm in 2021.

Qualcomm has also announced its first 5G automotive platform, enabling both C-V2X short and long-range modes, which is expected to sample later this year and are planned for production vehicles in 2021.

C-V2X direct communication goes commercial in 2019

Mass production of C-V2X chips including direct communication from several suppliers is ongoing, and multiple radio vendors have already integrated these chips into their automotive radio offerings. 2019 is the year when C-V2X direct communication technology will be commercially available across the globe. Furthermore, full interoperability testing on C-V2X applications is ongoing among 5GAA members. The first mass-deployment in vehicles on the roads is anticipated to start in China in 2020; to be followed swiftly in other regions when local regulations allow for it.

“C-V2X is now ready to roll. At Ford, we will begin to deploy this technology in all new models launching in the US starting in 2022” confirmed Don Butler, Executive Director of Connected Vehicle & Services at Ford Motor Co.

The next milestone: 5G New Radio

C-V2X provides a clear evolution path to the family of 5G technologies for both direct and network communication. Part of this evolution is the 5G New Radio (NR).

NR-V2X will eventually ensure safe operation of autonomous driving vehicles by using 5G New Radio with Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC) network based communication combined with improved direct short range communications.

“The development of the NR-V2X standard is due for completion by the end of 2019; eventually hitting the road in 2023. This will enable a new generation of use cases for connected automated vehicles”, said Maxime Flament, CTO at 5GAA.

About 5GAA

The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) is a global, cross-industry organisation with 110 members working together to develop end-to-end solutions for future mobility and transportation services. The organisation is committed to helping define and develop the next generation of connected mobility for advanced driving and automated vehicle solutions.

Presentations

• Opening speech by Thierry Klein, 5GAA Vice Chair & Nokia Bell Labs / Connecting the Mobility World with 5G-V2X
• Keynote by Friedhelm Ramme, Ericsson / 5G: From Concepts to Reality
• Keynote by Thorsten Hehn, Audi / 5G for Automotive: Key Applications
• Keynote by Jiang Wangsheng, Huawei / C-V2X Enables Intelligent Transportation 
• Keynote by Nakul Duggal, Qualcomm / C-V2X Ignites Automotive Connected Revolution
• Speech by  Vishnu Sudaram, Harman (Samsung) / Go-To-Market Timeline

 

During the last decade, a set of connected transportation services has been identified utilizing mobile network communication. One question that needs an answer is whether these transportation services can be handled by the current cellular networks or particular enhancements are needed in order to provide a commercially viable solution.

The present white paper analyses the architectural options for C-V2X communication and summarizes the considerations for the ability of the current networks to handle vehicular services by evaluating them against two particular use cases of interest: the Intersection Movement Assist (IMA) and the Vulnerable User (VRU) Discovery. The evaluation of the identified architectures further facilitates the extraction of useful conclusions for the cases where such architectural solutions may be applied. The analysis moves towards two directions, namely solutions that relate to PC5 interface and solutions that relate to Uu interface; the latter ones include the cloud enhancements. Additionally considerations on multi operator aspects of C-V2X communications are being presented and analyzed.

This document summarizes the effort performed in 5GAA on Network Architecture focusing on the evaluation and the proposal of enhancements related to Cellular V2X Architecture.

Click here to read the white paper.

On 12 and 13 February 2019, the 5G Vertical User Workshop, an initiative of 3GPP Market Representative Partners 5GAA, 5G-IA, 5G-ACIA and PSCE, was organised as a collaborative event for strategic dialogue between industries and 3GPP by exchanging on future needs and upcoming cellular standard developments. The workshop as a result, aimed to produce a report shared directly to 3GPP Project Coordination Group (PCG) as a mean to stimulate and facilitate greater involvement of the 5G Vertical Users in the 3GPP process.

The workshop held in Brussels brought together a host of experts from 5G standardization and a number vertical industries hoping to harness 5G including Automotive, Public Safety, Industry Automation, Utilities, Broadcasting, Satellites and Railways; as well as policy makers at the EU and Member State level.

Overall the event was successful in stimulating open dialogue and actions across all participants in an informal workshop setting that supported all involved to share their perspectives and experiences from their industry and standardization, and therefore how related processes may well be improved moving forward. Several possible options were discussed in terms of how to deliver improvements, and what corresponding changes to interaction could look like if required. Could this involve further workshops outside of 3GPP which could then drive action within the established channels? Or should there be alteration to vertical and MRP orientated rules of procedure to foster greater contributions?

Moreover, several open tools were discussed for better tracking activity and on-going work to make 3GPP more accessible to those joining, and those already, involved that may experience difficulties in contributing during this important period in the standardization of 5G. The need for such improvements are especially pronounced due to the forthcoming TSG#84 in December 2019, during which the completion of both Rel. 16 upon which 5G will be so dependent, and finalization of the scope for Rel. 17 are both scheduled.

There was a clear consensus among organizational partners and participants that an informal workshop and forum of this type was of use to help stimulate productive discussion on how to proceed with inter-MRP interaction in future.

In light of this, it was proposed that a second event with more focus on practical steps to be taken by 5G vertical industries and SDOs to improve vertical input would be of value, however the setting of this event is yet to be determined; interested Market Representational Partners will be coordinating to decide on the most effective next steps to convert what was valuable dialogue into impactful actions.

Until then, all involved expressed their great thanks to all who contributed to a workshop filled with rich dialogue, and hope based on continuing collaboration that this progress can be built upon over the coming months.

You can find all presentations here:

1. 5GAA – 5G Automative Association, pioneering digital transformation in the automotive industry
2. PSCE – Public Safety Communication Europe, National plans and roadmaps towards broadband
3. 5GIA – 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation
4. ESOA – EMEA Satellite Operators Association, 3GPP Market Representation Partners
5. EBU – European Broadcasting Union, Native 5G broadcasting
6. EUTC – European Utilities Telecom Council
7. 5GIA, 5G PPP Projects focusing on standardisation Verticals and Standards Tracker Tool + Pan-European 5G Trials Roadmap, and International Trials
8. 5G-PPP, Prestandards WG Status update
9. 3GPP, Verticals in 3GPP + Mission Critical Comms + Industrial Automation + V2X learnings in 3GPP

The C-V2X technology is set to revolutionise the mobility ecosystem and the way drivers interact with the world. It is essential to redefining transportation by providing real-time, highly reliable, and actionable information flows to enable safety, mobility and environmental applications.

5GAA believes C-V2X is key to achieving the level of connectivity required for V2X communication, and set to be a disruptive force in the automotive market.

Discover more on C-V2X technology in the video below.

The C-V2X technology is set to revolutionise the mobility ecosystem and the way drivers interact with the world. It is essential to redefining transportation by providing real-time, highly reliable, and actionable information flows to enable safety, mobility and environmental applications.

5GAA believes C-V2X is key to achieving the level of connectivity required for V2X communication, and set to be a disruptive force in the automotive market.

Discover more on C-V2X technology in the video below.

The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) board took part in the public consultation launched by the Directorate General Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) of the European Commission on the C-ITS delegated regulation.

The consultation has 100 comments from individuals, associations and companies. In fact, some 5GAA members have submitted their own feedback. The variety of comments proves that there are clearly opposing positions regarding this regulation.

Concretely, in the submitted feedback, the 5GAA board calls upon the Commission to:

• Amend the draft Delegated Regulation to include LTE-V2X both short-range and long-range communications, via the related ETSI approved specifications and profiles on an equal footing with ITS-G5;
• Define interoperability as a “mutual” requirement among mature C-ITS technologies, namely ITS-G5 and LTE-V2X for short & long-range communications;
• Avoid legal uncertainty on the “fast-track” update process by:
  – Introducing a 6-month deadline for the Commission to make its decision publicly known as regards the initiation of an amendment procedure to include new technologies (e.g., 5G-V2X) or new C-ITS services;
  – Specifying clearly the terms, conditions and processes for the inclusion of other technologies (e.g. 5G-V2X) or C-ITS services, including unambiguous definitions of terms such as “existing”, “maturity” or “migration path”, etc.;
  – Include as an Annex to the Delegated Regulation a template for the “technical file” to be submitted;
  – Open up participation in the future C-ITS Expert Group to representatives of technology segments that are not within the scope of the draft Delegated Regulation today.
• We note that all elements required in the proposed process for updating the draft Regulation are already met by LTE-V2X:
  – All required profiles/technical specifications for LTE-V2X have been adopted by European SDOs;
  – Multiple vendors have already commercialised LTE-V2X short-range hardware and software solutions in Q1 2019 (and more are announced for Q2 2019);
• We also underline that many of the C-ITS priority services listed in Annex I of the draft Delegated Regulation have already been implemented using 3G and 4G (LTE) cellular networks for long-range communications (e.g. traffic jams, weather conditions, road works, etc.). Yet, this reality is not accounted for by the draft text which still only foresees the initial deployment of these services exclusively via ITS-G5 for short-range communications.

Read the full feedback submitted by the 5GAA board here.

 

 

Stakeholders from the automobile, wireless, and technology industries filed comments at the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in support of the 5G Automotive Association’s waiver request seeking permission to deploy Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) technology in a portion of the 5.9 GHz band.

Click here to have a look at the official press release.