At this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the European Automotive Telecom Alliance (EATA) presented the next steps to make automated driving a reality. During a roundtable discussion chaired by European Commission Vice-President Andrus Ansip, and in the presence of Commissioner Günther H. Oettinger, the telecoms and automotive industries reported the latest technology developments and the corresponding societal and economic benefits for European citizens. The EATA presented a deployment roadmap for connected and automated driving, including its pilot projects and its ongoing regulatory dialogue.
Connecting Europe Facility proposal
The Alliance also announced that it has submitted a proposal for €48 million of funding from the Connecting Europe Facility, aimed at ensuring the speedy development of connected and automated driving across Europe. By leveraging the latest technologies, the EU can deliver smarter, safer and cleaner transport and strengthen its competitiveness on the global stage. A pilot project will kick-off in 2017 in five EU Member States (Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands and Spain). Other European countries along the EU’s Trans-European Transport Networks (the TEN-T corridors) are likely to join the project at a later stage.
During this first phase, companies will test applications, such as highway chauffeur and truck platooning, and telecommunication network functionalities including network slicing, hybrid communications and LTE broadcasting. From 2018 onwards, valet parking and automated driving will take centre stage. This will include testing cross-border motorways networks across the EU.
Memorandum of Understanding with 5GAA
To speed up the deployment of connected and automated driving, the EATA has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA). The latter is a global multi-industry association that brings together the automotive and ICT industries on vehicle and road transportation systems. Given the complexity and diversity of the connected and automated ecosystem, it is important to establish a broad collaboration that brings together industries from around the world.
EU Member States give political support
At the Digital Day on 23 March in Rome, marking the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the European Union, EU Member States will solidify their political support for the deployment of connected cars in Europe. This event, involving the European Commission, EU Transport and Communication Ministers and high-level industry representatives is set to further strengthen the commitment to cross-border initiatives in Europe on connected and automated driving, through signing special ‘letters of intent’ by EU Member states.
The participating Member States are now committed to meeting twice a year, after a follow-up meeting in February on the so-called ‘Declaration of Amsterdam’. The goal is to increase large-scale cross-border testing of connected cars, including the truck platooning and highway chauffeur use cases.