Significant progress has been made towards the widespread commercial introduction of connected vehicle systems in Europe with the certification of seven Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) products from leading automotive and infrastructure suppliers.
Qualcomm Technologies has announced that multiple products featuring its 9150 C-V2X chipset platform have completed certification in accordance with the European Radio Equipment Directive (RED) certification in Europe, a requirement for placing radio equipment on the market. C-V2X is seen as a global solution for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication designed to enhance road safety and facilitate smart transportation systems, including support of automated driving. Developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) organization, C-V2X establishes the foundation to support safety use-cases with a path for integration into next generation 5G technologies, while tapping into the broader 3GPP ecosystem to drive wider adoption. With its evolution to 5G New Radio, C-V2X offers rich and differentiated experiences that consumers will demand as the world of 5G and autonomy becomes commonplace.
A new European Standard (EN) defining the use of C-V2X as an access layer technology for Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) devices was recently approved through the European Telecommunication Standardization Institute (ETSI). In addition, all the ETSI standards and specifications that define other ITS protocols above the access layer have been updated to support utilization of C-V2X as the underlying access layer. These standards and specifications have been included in the ETSI ITS Release 1 specification set and provide the basis for development of interoperable C-V2X ITS implementations and devices from multiple vendors.
C-V2X continues to gain global momentum, with field tests transitioning to early deployments in China. In the USA, recent field tests have shown significant range, reliability, and performance advantage of C-V2X direct communications, in addition to the ability for C-V2X to work well in congested environments. In Europe, the recent ‘plugtests’ organized by ETSI and 5GAA demonstrated multi-vendor interoperability, while multiple corridor programs are being planned to test the technology on the road, starting from 5G-Carmen and Concorda projects. The products featuring the Qualcomm 9150 C-V2X chipset to have achieved European RED certification are:
- Commsignia On-Board Unit (OBU);
- Commsignia Roadside Unit (RSU);
- Ficosa OBU;
- Kapsch RSU;
- Savari MobiWave 2000 OBU;
- Savari StreetWave SW2000 RSU;
- WNC (Wistron NetWeb Corp) module.
“We are pleased to have achieved the RED certification milestone for the MobiWave OBU and StreetWave RSU platforms, featuring the Qualcomm 9150 C-V2X Platform. I am proud that our team was able to complete this difficult and far-reaching radio certification milestone, and show our continuing technical leadership,” said Paul Sakamoto, Savari’s chief operating officer. “This brings us one step closer to making C-V2X a reality in Europe as the technology prepares for commercial deployment.”
Fayu Chen, SVP and GM of automotive and industrial solutions at WNC, said, “We continue to work with eco-system leaders to deploy 5G and C-V2X technologies through our active participation in 5GAA. Our joint efforts with Qualcomm Technologies on a globally deployed C-V2X module has made great strides, and we are excited to report its qualification for RED certification in Europe. We have and will provide the global technical support for the C-V2X development platform and the ITS abstraction layer SDK, fulfilling our promise to the eco-system to facilitate fast-to-market development.”
