AT&T, Ford, Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies announced plans for the first trials of Cellular-V2X (C-V2X) in the US. The goal of the trials is to demonstrate the potential of C-V2X technologies, including support for improved automotive safety, automated driving, and traffic efficiency. The trials will also be aimed at demonstrating to automakers and road operators the anticipated cost benefits associated with embedded cellular technology in vehicles and synergies between the deployment of cellular base stations and roadside infrastructure. The initial testing phase is expected to begin later this year.
For this trial, C-V2X platforms are expected to be installed in Ford vehicles using the Qualcomm 9150 C-V2X chipset to facilitate direct communications, and are complemented by AT&T's LTE network communications and ITS platform using base stations and multi-access edge computing equipment from Nokia. For the new communication technologies being deployed, McCain will help facilitate the effective integration with existing and emerging traffic signal control infrastructure.
Testing will support direct C-V2X communications operating in the 5.9 GHz ITS spectrum to explore the safety enhancements of vehicle-to-vehicle use cases, including do not pass warning, intersection movement assist, and left turn assist. The trials will also support advanced vehicle communication capabilities such as real-time mapping updates and event notifications relayed using AT&T's cellular network and Nokia Cloud infrastructure.
The San Diego region was designated earlier this year by the US Department of Transportation as one of ten automated vehicle proving grounds in the US. Testing of the mobile data service for connected cars will take place in the San Diego Regional Proving Ground, with the support of the San Diego Association of Governments, Caltrans and the City of Chula Vista.
