Skip to main content

New German cross-industry project to develop 5G vehicle applications

A new consortium, initiated by Ericsson in Germany, aims to create an infrastructure and real application environment on a motorway test track, to carry out tests in vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure, digitisation of the railway infrastructure and other applications using 5G technology. The 30 kilometre test track consists of several construction sections on the 30 kilometre ‘digital test field motorway’ along the A9 motorway and the high speed rail track between Nuremberg and Greding. The in
November 22, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
A new consortium, initiated by 5650 Ericsson in Germany, aims to create an infrastructure and real application environment on a motorway test track, to carry out tests in vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure, digitisation of the railway infrastructure and other applications using 5G technology.

The 30 kilometre test track consists of several construction sections on the 30 kilometre ‘digital test field motorway’ along the A9 motorway and the high speed rail track between Nuremberg and Greding. The infrastructure is already completed in the first partial sections, meaning that live tests can begin immediately.

The project operates within an independent infrastructure and is not dependent on any commercial network, meaning that 5G prototype applications can be installed and tested regularly, in various network configurations, at any time, without restrictions. The dedicated Ericsson 5G mobile network allows live tests of real time applications, even under extreme network loads, and at very high travel speeds. Test conditions, which are hardly ever found in commercially operated live networks, can be created.

Ericsson has received permission from the German Federal Regulatory Agency to use frequencies from the 700-MHz band and will act as a network operator.

Members of the 5G Connected Mobility consortium include Ericsson, BMW Group, Deutsche Bahn, all three German mobile network operators -Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica Deutschland and Vodafone, the TU Dresden 5G Lab Germany, the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) and the Federal Regulatory Agency (BNetzA). The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure and the Bavarian Road Construction Administration support the project.

The project aims to pool the knowledge, perspectives and recommendations gained from this partnership and further develop them with the focus on integration into international 5G standardisation activities.

Within the scope of 5G-ConnectedMobility, the consortium plans to develop use cases of associated vehicle applications, for vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, new methods of traffic information provision in real time and cross-manufacturer traffic control for automated vehicles.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Bespoke ITS is helping to reduced collisions on America’s rural roads
    October 22, 2014
    David Crawford cherrypicks conference and award highlights Almost 30% of all US citizens live in rural areas or very small communities, and 34 of the 50 states exceed this level in their own populations, with the proportions rising as high as 85%. And although rural routes carry only 35% of all traffic, the accidents that occur on them account for some 54% of all US road traffic accident deaths.
  • Survey outlines predictions for public transport by 2025
    January 22, 2016
    A new survey from Xerox underscores the desire for self-driving cars and smart digital services like integrated apps and cashless payment by Europe’s Generation Z (those aged 18-24 years old). The study was conducted by TNS on behalf of Xerox between 5 and 26 October 2015 among 1,200 respondents in 12 cities across the UK, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. It revealed that by 2025, a third (32 per cent) of 18-24 year olds expect to be using self-driving cars, four in ten (41 per cent) say they w
  • Kapsch outlines tolling options to combat traffic congestion
    January 11, 2017
    Michael Maitland from Kapsch TrafficCom looks at how the various forms of tolling can help authorities combat traffic congestion and air quality problems while simultaneously raising revenue.
  • Improving, integrating weather monitoring for safer roads
    February 6, 2012
    Paul Pisano, USDOT Federal Highway Administration, and Charles Harris, Noblis Inc, chart progress in the US of Maintenance Decision Support Systems for winter maintenance and weather management