Telstra teamed up with Cohda Wireless to trial so-called ‘vehicle-to-everything’ (V2X) technology over the operator’s LTE network in South Australia.

The trial covered applications such as alerting a driver to roadworks ahead, giving green light priority to high priority vehicles and providing optimal traffic signal timing where the vehicle is informed of the most suitable speed to approach a traffic light so it’s a green light when the car arrives.

Telstra director of technology Andrew Scott said the trial confirms 4G can support vehicle-to-infrastructure applications.

He said it marks the first phase of its V2X project, with additional trial phases lined up for testing vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-vulnerable (bicycles and pedestrians). “We are particularly excited about the upcoming vehicle-to-vulnerable testing as we will be able to showcase the sending of standardised intelligent transport systems messages over the 4G network to enable interaction of vehicles with smartphone-equipped bicycles.”

Telstra and Cohda Wireless intend to trial vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-vulnerable technologies in South Australia in the coming months.

Deployment of V2X communications is expected to lead to intelligent transport systems that allow more efficient use of road infrastructure, better traffic management, and coordinated and safe autonomous vehicle operation.

CEO of Cohda Wireless Paul Gray said there are a number of V2X use cases that can be deployed right now using 4G. “We are very pleased to be working with Telstra towards the shared goal of making roads safer, greener, and less congested.”

Vodafone Group announced earlier in the week it is trialling new technology for vehicle-to-vehicle communication (called LTE-V2X), with the goal of improving road safety and efficiency. It is based on an extension of 4G standards, to “ensure safe, reliable communications while making the most efficient use of radio spectrum”.