Accelerating the deployment of connected cars, the GSMA and the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) signed a three-year cooperation agreement. The global trade groups will work across industries to focus on privacy/security, common standards and target the 5.9 GHz spectrum band specifically for the internet of vehicles.
Both organisations support cellular-based solutions–both direct and network-based V2X communications–to connect vehicles to each other, road users, roadside infrastructure and cloud-based services. “Together we can find faster, smarter and cheaper solutions to the challenges of connected driving,” said Afke Schaart, VP and head of Europe for the GSMA. “These solutions will reduce fatalities on the road and emissions in the air.”
In Asia, Europe and the U.S., ideas around connected and autonomous mobility are expanding to include new industries and technologies. How and what people drive will change radically over the next decade. Collaboration will be key, while governments should remain technology-neutral in their policies on connected vehicles.
“C-V2X technology is set to revolutionise the mobility ecosystem and the way vehicles and drivers interact with the world, including vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists,” said Maxime Flament, CTO of 5GAA. “It is an essential stepping stone for the ongoing digitisation of transportation by providing real-time, highly reliable and actionable information flows to enable road safety, traffic efficiency and environmental progress.”
The push for C-V2X will not only help save lives, but also, improve the quality of life in smart cities. Each year about 1.35 million people die worldwide in traffic accidents, the majority caused by human error, according to the World Health Organization. As V2X technology evolves that number should decline. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that V2X could save more than 1,000 people a year in the U.S. and reduce non-fatal injuries by 2.3 million.
Meanwhile, traffic congestion accounts for 15 billion litres (4 billion gallons) of wasted fuel in the U.S. every year. Cleaner vehicles and smarter route choices will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 14 percent of which come from global transportation, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.