Vehicle-to-everything connectivity global partnership

The Global Certification Forum (GCF) and the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) have announced a partnership to support the drive for interoperability, reliability and safety of emerging cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) systems.

Direct wireless communication between vehicles, plus between vehicles and infrastructure, will lead to safer, more efficient intelligent transportation systems. Certification of all these elements to global standards is essential to ensure the peace of mind of manufacturers and users alike.

Under the agreement with 5GAA, GCF has established a program that will enable manufacturers to certify their C-V2X capable products — including onboard units (OBU) and roadside units (RSU) — for C-V2X PC5 Mode 4 functionality. PC5 Mode 4, standardised by 3GPP, allows for direct communications between vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) equipment without the need to connect to the cellular network.

The program will evolve from radio layer certification of PC5 Mode 4 (V2V and V2I) to LTE and 5G-NR based V2X-Uu (V2N) using the 4G and 5G cellular network for communications, taking advantage of the increased functionality and performance that 5G brings. The GCF C-V2X program focuses on the radio layer while allowing the industry to develop applications that can sit on top.

Tier 1 manufacturers of OBUs and RSUs can ensure their products are interoperable with each other in terms of V2V functionality; vehicle manufacturers can rely on intelligent connectivity within automobiles; and insurance companies will have the opportunity to monitor for safe driving practices. In addition, municipal traffic authorities will be able to trust in the ability of products to operate over their infrastructure, maintaining traffic flow.

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