Delegated Act – a great step towards road safety & automation

Delegated Act – a great step towards road safety & automation

C2C-CC welcomes the EC efforts to save lives and moving ahead with setting up a clear, future-proof regulatory framework through the delegated regulation on C-ITS, which is critical for the continuation of ITS-G5 deployment. ITS-G5 is a short-range direct ad hoc wireless technology used for increasing road traffic safety and it is a complement to network-based cellular technology (e.g., 3G/4G/5G). We strongly believe that the hybrid approach taken by EC is a necessity for launching connected and automated driving. ITS-G5 and network based communication is an ideal solution for increasing safety and efficiency on European roads.

The beauty with ITS-G5 is that a vehicle travelling across Europe can talk to any other vehicle, powered two-wheeler or smart road infrastructure already today, free of charge with no dependency of communications infrastructure (no coverage requirement, no handover, no roaming). The ITS-G5 equipped entity provides a set of safety services, and disseminates information in real-time locally using broadcast communication (one-to-many communication). In other words, a vehicle travelling from the northern part of Europe to the south or from east to west will enjoy safety services without the hassle of borders and network coverage. 

C2C-CC welcomes work on technology evolution for supporting more advanced connected and automated driving applications using the hybrid approach. ITS spectrum is a scarce resource and the 5.9 GHz band needs to preserved in its entirety to maintain spectrum efficiency and avoid reduced safety benefits. The delegated regulation on C-ITS is a step in the right direction to bring connected and automated driving onto European roads facilitating a trusted domain and ensuring interoperability.

Quick facts about ITS-G5:

• ITS-G5 is a short-range wireless ad hoc technology not using communications infrastructure (no access point or base station is supported), in other words, no coverage by communications infrastructure is necessary
   
• ITS-G5 is used in vehicles and powered two-wheelers as well as in smart road infrastructure but all ITS-G5 stations are peers from a network perspective, offering different types of safety services
   
• ITS-G5 lends its radio technology from WiFi but there the similarities end, ITS-G5 does not support access point functionality which WiFi is dependent on
   
• ITS-G5 is closing the gap between line-of-sight sensors (e.g., radar and camera) and cellular connectivity, providing the possibility to ”see” beyond physical objects in milliseconds everywhere in Europe
   
• ITS-G5 is a complement to cellular connectivity (3G/4G/5G), the hybrid approach

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About the CAR 2 CAR Communication Consortium

Enhancing road safety and traffic efficiency by means of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems and Services (C-ITS) is the dedicated goal of the CAR 2 CAR Communication Consortium. The industrial driven, non-commercial association was founded in 2002 by vehicle manufacturers affiliated with the idea of cooperative road traffic based on Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications (V2V) and supported by Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Communications (V2I). The C-ITS roadmap is formed by the initial deployment phase followed by further innovation phases towards cooperative automated driving and aiming on the vision zero. The Consortium comprises of major vehicle manufacturers, automotive suppliers, engineering companies and research organisations.

Over the years, the CAR 2 CAR Communication Consortium has evolved to be one of the key players in preparing the initial deployment of C-ITS in Europe and the subsequent innovation phases. CAR 2 CAR members focus on wireless V2V communication applications based on ETSI ITS-G5 and concentrate all efforts on creating standards to ensure the interoperability of cooperative systems, spanning all vehicle classes across borders and brands. As a key contributor, the CAR 2 CAR Communication Consortium works in close cooperation with the European and international standardisation organisations such as ETSI and CEN.