The European Automotive Telecom Alliance (EATA) today presented the next steps to make connected and 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.

In this context, EATA presented a deployment roadmap for connected and automated driving, including its pilot projects and its on-going regulatory dialogue. The Alliance also announced that it has submitted a proposal for funding from the Connecting Europe Facility, aimed at ensuring a 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. To support this, the Alliance has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA).

Deployment roadmap: status of pilot projects and regulatory dialogue

During the roundtable discussion, EATA presented its roadmap for testing connected and automated driving functionalities. The kick-off will take place in 2017 in 5 EU countries (Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands and Spain). Other European countries along the TEN-T corridors are expected to join the project at a later stage. During this first phase, companies will test applications such as highway chauffeur, truck platooning and telecommunication network functionalities including network slicing, hybrid communications and LTE broadcasting. From 2018 onwards, functionalities such as valet parking and concrete deployment of automated driving will take the centre stage. This will include testing cross-border motorways networks across the European Union.

In addition to this roadmap initiated by the private sector, EATA stressed that a supportive regulatory environment is an essential foundation for the development and take-up of connected and automated driving. Two main aspects will be crucial:

· With investment efforts in Europe’s digital networks underway, the EU should ensure that investment requirements are supported by the necessary regulatory certainty. Broadband investment is a main driver of extensive societal and economic benefits;

· Trust, security and consumer protection are at the core of the industry efforts to ensure take-up of new products. In this context, innovative services and data analytics will be driving forces of car connectivity and automation. Hence, the EU should avoid overregulation of privacy and ensure the effective flow of data.

We are now looking forward to the upcoming Digital Day on 23 March in Rome in the margins of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the European Union. This event with participation of the European Commission, EU Transport and Communication Ministers and High-level industry representatives is expected to further step up the commitment to cross-border initiatives in Europe on connected and automated driving.

CONCORDA project: EATA applies for funding from the Connected Europe Facility

The members of EATA have submitted a project on connected and automated driving worth around €48 million, requesting €24million in co-founding from the Connected Europe Facility (CEF). CEF is an EU financial instrument to support trans-European networks and infrastructures in the transport, telecommunications and energy sectors.

EATA’s project, called CONCORDA, aims at enhancing and upgrading the environment for existing pilot projects for three main use cases: automated highway chauffeur, truck platooning and automated collision avoidance functionalities.

More specifically, the project seeks to identify the potential of hybrid, safe and secure communications and digital infrastructures, as well as tackling challenges it these fields. With connectivity technologies developing so rapidly, it becomes increasingly important to test the several communication technologies available, such as ETSI ITS-G5, cellular based 3G/4G/LTE, pre5G LTE-V and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) .

EATA and the 5GAA sign Memorandum of Understanding

In order to improve global cooperation, EATA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the 5GAA – a global multi-industry association bringing 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.

Background

About the European Automotive Telecom Alliance (EATA):

The European Automotive Telecom Alliance comprises six sectorial associations: ACEA, CLEPA, ETNO, ECTA, GSMA and GSA. Together they represent 38 leading European companies, including telecom operators, vendors, automobile manufacturers and automotive suppliers.

About the partners of project CONCORDA:

The active members of the project CONCORDA include 5 EU Member States (Germany, Netherlands, Spain, France, Belgium), 9 leading companies from the telecoms industry (Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Vodafone, Telefonica, KPN, Eurofiber, Nokia, Huawei and Ericsson), 13 leaders from the automotive industry (Ford, Hyundai, PSA, Renault, BMW, Daimler, Toyota, VW, Autoliv, Continental, Denso, CRF, BOSCH) as well as other organisations from the broader ecosystem (Kapsh, NXP, ICCS, CTAG, iMec and KU Leuven).