Deutsche Telekom launched a pilot of a next generation emergency call system for vehicles alongside partners Qualcomm and Cetecom Advanced, with the LTE-based platform expected to aid accident response.   

The operator claimed the trial of Next Generation eCall (NG eCall) in Germany was the first of its kind and uses its commercial 4G network to connect vehicles to emergency call centres.

It noted current in-vehicle automated emergency call systems detailed in European Union (EU) rules are technically outdated, with the generation being trialled designed to provide faster connections than its 2G counterpart while opening the opportunity to transmit a greater amount of data.

Deutsche Telekom added NG eCall could eventually be used to transmit live images of accident scenes or health data of occupants to aid response.

Calling for an urgent update of EU regulations, it noted vehicle manufacturers were currently obliged to install 2G or 3G systems due to “particularly good network coverage at the time compared to 4G/LTE” when the rules were set.

“Due to the rapid expansion of new mobile networks, updating the specifications is sensible and absolutely necessary,” the company added.