NGMN calls on EC to rethink connected car technology

An organisation representing telecoms network operators has warned European lawmakers that their vision for the development of cooperative ITS (C-ITS) risks being too narrow. In a letter to European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, the board of the NGMN Alliance highlights a key piece of EC legislation which will determine the technologies used for connected vehicles – and urges the inclusion of cellular-V2X (C-V2X) on the list. “Despite the EC’s stated commitment to technology neutrality, we
December 12, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
An organisation representing telecoms network operators has warned European lawmakers that their vision for the development of cooperative ITS (C-ITS) risks being too narrow.


In a letter to 1690 European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, the board of the NGMN Alliance highlights a key piece of EC legislation which will determine the technologies used for connected vehicles – and urges the inclusion of cellular-V2X (C-V2X) on the list.

“Despite the EC’s stated commitment to technology neutrality, we are very concerned about the progressing Delegated Act,” the NGMN letter says.

“At the current time, it rules out the most recent technology, C-V2X, favouring a specific and single-purpose Wi-Fi based technology path, ITS-G5, which has no relationship to 5G technology and no evolutionary path towards compatibility with future 5G based C-ITS systems generations.”

This will preclude “the evolution to 5G for connected cars”, it warns. “Limiting C-ITS deployment to ITS-G5 would imperil the European Union automotive industry’s ability to compete in today’s global and evolving technological marketplace. This places Europe at a technical and economic disadvantage compared with other regions of the world including China and the US, where C-V2X is emerging as a strong technology candidate for C-ITS.”

The NGMN board says that Delegated Act adoption “should not be rushed” and adds that C-V2X is not only able to enhance safety features for vehicles, but also supports use cases for vulnerable road users such as cyclists.

“NGMN has investigated and concluded that C-V2X technology is superior to 6781 IEEE 802.11p standards, technically, economically, and eco-system wise, and can well satisfy the basic safety applications,” the letter goes on.

The board believes its favoured technology has a better communication range, latency and scalability and “has a natural evolution path to future advanced applications by updating current networks to 5G”.

Related Content

  • Cost Benefit: There’s still life in the RSU
    May 24, 2021
    A mixture of mobile and static roadside units may be what’s required to fulfil the needs of connected vehicle communications
    Read More
  • Pivot Power: 'We need to rethink the EV customer experience'
    October 10, 2018
    Electric vehicles will increasingly become a key part of the mobility mix but charging infrastructure is currently patchy. Adam Hill talks to Matt Allen of Pivot Power about disruption, horses, slot machines – and the importance of customer experience. Electric vehicles (EVs) – including buses, taxis and cars for individual and shared use – are already a common sight on our roads. They are not yet ubiquitous. But that will come. There will be around 30 million electric cars in the world by 2030 (as they
    Read More
  • Europe calls for guidance on evaluating ITS projects
    December 4, 2012
    A European Commission study report has revealed a lack of consistency or standard practice for evaluating the funding needs and fiscal performance of ITS projects. New guidelines are urgently needed for monitoring public funding of ITS schemes, says a recent report from the European Commission (EC). A specially-commissioned study has found no readily available comparative analysis of transport funding schemes and ITS investment methodologies to support project decision making. A survey of nine EU member sta
    Read More
  • Kapsch launches new V2X platform
    November 19, 2013
    Kapsch TrafficCom is expanding its V2X technology portfolio with the new EVK-3300 communications platform for V2X communication, which it is introducing at the Car 2 Car Communication Consortium Forum in Munich. With its EVK-3300 platform Kapsch is directly targeting car manufacturers and suppliers with the EVK-3300, which it says is an essential part of V2X, the communication between vehicles and infrastructure and between vehicles themselves. The platform can be integrated into vehicles in various
    Read More

Highlighted Content