Cellular V2X: Member Report December 2020
Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology enables equipped vehicles to communicate with other devices in their surroundings – those carried by pedestrians, other vehicles, or devices embedded in road traffic systems. V2X promises to make the roads safer for all users and more convenient for drivers by enabling a wide range of new safety, information and entertainment applications. The V2X concept encompasses several sub-categories of application, each with their own commonly used names. These are vehicle-to-(transport)-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P), vehicle-to-network (V2N), and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V).
Over the past few years, investment in V2X has been steadily increasing with operators and governmental bodies planning and carrying out trials and developing and building test sites and/or required infrastructure. We have also seen field trials of V2X on public streets in large-scale or city-wide trials such as in China and South Korea.
During 2020, the market has moved on significantly, with more automotive OEMs (car and truck makers) backing C-V2X with commercial models or firm timetables for deployment, but regulatory, standardisation, interoperability and accreditation hurdles have been overcome.
Two technologies have been in the running to be deployed in V2X systems. The first to emerge was WiFi-based 802.11p. Versions of this technology were lined up to underpin traffic safety systems in the USA (using DSRC) and Europe (under the auspices of the Intelligent Traffic Systems [ITS] initiative).
However, during 2020, C-V2X took centre stage. Not only is it the de facto technology used in the world’s biggest and most advanced V2X market (China) but the North American and European markets are falling in behind C-V2X. There is more detail in the Regional Regulation section below.
This report focuses entirely on the development of the ecosystem around the 3GPP-based V2X technologies using LTE and 5G and, more specifically, on the development of the ecosystem based around C-V2X technology. A variety of terms are used to refer to vehicle-to-everything technology. In this report, we use C-V2X (cellular vehicle-to-everything) to refer to technology that conforms to the 3GPP Release 14 or later specifications only. For earlier cellular-based V2X technology, or for those cases where it is unclear if the technology meets 3GPP Release 14 specifications, we use the generic term V2X. Within C-V2X we include both V2N applications and V2V/V2I applications (C-V2X direct communications).
This report aims to summarise the state of development of the ecosystem that has emerged around C-V2X, including data on availability of C-V2X chipsets, on-board units (OBUs) and roadside units (RSUs). It also provides information on selected C-V2X trials and investments. There are many vendor-led projects that do not necessarily involve a network operator or government/public sector buyer.
Cellular V2X: Member Report December 2020
