Three “megatrends” are transforming the modern “mobility” industry. Mobility encompasses a range of areas that cut across the automotive, transportation and logistics sectors, essentially applying to any area where vehicles, primarily automobiles, are used. According to a new report by US mobile industry trade association CTIA and its counterpart in the car and light truck industry, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, these trends are electrification, automation and connectivity.
After all, as always, there’s the chicken-and-egg debate of whether connectivity accelerates the rate of innovation or whether innovation accelerates the need for connectivity. Of course, both arguments are true, but the arrival of 5G is accelerating new vehicle services, capabilities and safety improvements. “5G is spurring innovation across industries,” said Meredith Atwell Baker, president of CTIA, citing safety, “new experiences” and manufacturing as key examples.
John Bozzella, president of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, described the 5G-enabled symbiotic relationship between connected cars and roadway infrastructure as “groundbreaking,” saying, “Automakers are already using 5G to deliver life-saving capabilities, like automatic crash notification services that dispatch emergency responders to the scene, and technology that allows the vehicle to contact emergency personnel directly in the event of an emergency.”
The new report outlines four changes 5G will bring to the auto industry: But for the two organizations, their real goal is policymaking. They argue that for every dollar the U.S. auto industry adds to the U.S. economy, it creates an additional $3.45 in economic value for the country. And for every manufacturing job in the sector, they claim that an additional 10.5 jobs are somehow generated in the rest of the economy.
Similarly, the pair cite a Boston Consulting Group projection that 5G networks could add $1.5 trillion to the U.S. economy and 4.5 million jobs (“just this decade,” they say). But “proactive” policies are needed, both in the U.S. and globally. Fundamentally, they say, both the telecommunications and automotive industries want more spectrum, and more globally harmonized spectrum. “We’re focused on policies that support the next generation of automotive technology,” Bozzella says.
Atwell Baker added, “The wireless industry needs a pipeline of additional 5G spectrum to continue to support this innovation and ensure the United States remains a global automotive technology leader,” and more specifically, he wrote, “This includes reauthorizing the FCC’s auction authority with a globally harmonized pipeline of 5G spectrum aimed at meeting consumer demand and supporting future industry advancements.”
Charting the progress already made below, they claim that the new spectrum rules are a vote of confidence for both parties, allowing them to “make long-term investments and benefit from global economies of scale in equipment and related technologies.” The full report, available here, provides specific examples, but the summary below, taken directly from the report, states that 5G is already helping to improve automotive safety, production, infotainment and emissions:
1 | Car Safety
“5G can help vehicles automatically share accident information with emergency personnel. Drivers and vehicles can also use 5G to respond with real-time route and weather information. These and other capabilities give parents peace of mind knowing that 5G-enabled safety features are working to protect young drivers. 5G-enabled infrastructure can also communicate with surrounding traffic management systems to provide valuable information about the vehicle’s surroundings. In these and other automotive safety scenarios, it’s all about information. 5G networks can transmit data faster, improving reaction times and supporting more devices communicating with each other in real time.”
2 | Automotive production
“5G is starting to play a big role in the future of automotive manufacturing, giving a competitive advantage to an increasingly technical and data-driven vehicle assembly process…How will 5G innovation in auto manufacturing work? 5G-connected sensors will alert facility managers to inventory supply and demand, power usage, and safety issues in real time, while automation drives processes and AI and machine learning tools drive further improvements behind the scenes. Autonomous vehicles will deliver parts to where they are needed most, and 5G-enabled robots like super-powered Roombas will keep factory floors clean and safe without being encumbered by wires and cables.”
3 | Automotive infotainment
“By 2027, approximately 1 [in] The four new vehicles will be 5G-enabled… Vehicles connected via full-power licensed 5G spectrum will blend transportation and entertainment, transforming the driving experience. Drivers will be able to pay for parking in connected garages without digging for a credit card in their wallet or an app on their smartphone. Passengers will be able to work, watch TV, movies, or improve their game scores while in their car, with the same quality experience as they have at home… [5G] This enables real-time software updates, enhancing vehicle performance and protecting data over a network with built-in security.”
4 | Vehicle emissions
“5G will provide information in real time. Leveraging this data for smart transportation solutions, vehicles will use less power, improve journey times and reduce emissions. Think about connected transportation infrastructure: when drivers can see what’s ahead of them sooner, they won’t have to accelerate or brake hard as much. Vehicles will spend less time idling at traffic lights and traffic signals when sensors at intersections react to real-time traffic flow. And when all this information is analysed at lightning speed, traffic management systems will be able to predict, alert and resolve congestion that unnecessarily wastes fuel and increases carbon emissions.”
