Big name mobile players and car manufacturers today teamed to form the ‘5G Automotive Association’, a new group pledging to develop solutions addressing road safety and self-driving through connected car solutions.

Consisting of global vendors Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia and Qualcomm, technology firm Intel and automobile giants Audi, BMW and Daimler, the association said it will develop and test communications solutions with applications “such as connected automated driving, ubiquitous access to services and integration into smart cities and intelligent transportation”.

The project is already being regarded as a way for the mobile and car industries to build technology expertise necessary to take on new rivals like Uber and Google, which are also working on autonomous driving technology.

The group’s work will extend to supporting standardisation, while accelerating commercial availability and global market penetration.

The 5G aspect of the partnership will focus on the shift towards IoT and digitalisation of industries, which includes the development of car specific solutions like Cellular Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) communication.

It explained that 5G will be better placed to support mission critical communications for safer driving, and “will further support enhanced vehicle to everything communications and mobility solutions”.

Nokia back in the ring
Nokia, which last year sold its digital mapping business HERE to the three automakers involved in the project, said the association is the “latest example of Nokia’s close relationship with the automotive industry to make the driverless car a reality”.

“Cloud, communications and networking technologies and innovations have the potential to transform the car into a full connected device to revolutionise the driver experience and address society’s mobility needs,” said Marc Rouanne, the company’s chief innovation and operating officer.

Some of the work it aims to complete includes running joint innovation and development projects, with large scale pilots and trials planned, while also addressing “vehicle to everything technology requirements”, such as wireless connectivity, privacy and security.