The latest SNS Telecom & IT research, V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) Communications Ecosystem: 2019 – 2030 – Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts, suggests that global spending on V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) communications technology – based on both IEEE 802.11p and C-V2X (Cellular V2X) standards – will reach $1.2 billion annually by the end of 2022.
V2X communications technology allows vehicles to directly communicate with each other, roadside infrastructure, and other road users to deliver an array of benefits in the form of road safety, traffic efficiency, smart mobility, environmental sustainability, and driver convenience.
V2X is also helping pave the way for fully autonomous driving through its unique non line-of-sight sensing capability which allows vehicles to detect potential hazards, traffic, and road conditions from longer distances and sooner than other in-vehicle sensors such as cameras, radar, and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging).
Adoption on track
Although legacy V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure) technologies are currently in operational use worldwide for ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) and relatively simple V2I applications, advanced V2X systems – capable of supporting V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle), V2I and other forms of V2X communications – are beginning to gain broad commercial acceptance with two competing technologies vying for the attention of automakers and regulators. These are the commercially mature IEEE 802.11p/DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) standard, and the relatively new 3GPP-defined C-V2X (Cellular V2X) technology which has a forward evolutionary path towards 5G.
With an initial focus on road safety and traffic efficiency applications, Toyota and General Motors (GM) have already equipped some of their vehicle models with IEEE 802.11p-based V2X technology in Japan and North America.
Volkswagen will begin deploying IEEE 802.11p on volume models in Europe starting from 2019, while Geely and Ford plan to integrate C-V2X in their new vehicles by 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Luxury automakers – including BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen's subsidiary Audi, and Volvo Cars – already deliver certain V2X-type applications through wide-area cellular connectivity and supporting infrastructure such as appropriately equipped roadwork trailers.
Challenges ahead
Despite the ongoing 802.11p/DSRC versus C-V2X debate, regulatory uncertainty and other challenges, global spending on V2X communications technology is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 170% between 2019 and 2022. SNS Telecom & IT predicts that by the end of 2022, V2X will account for a market worth $1.2 billion, with an installed base of nearly 6 Million V2X-equipped vehicles worldwide.
The report noted that despite the ongoing 802.11p/DSRC versus C-V2X debate, regulatory uncertainty and other challenges, global spending on V2X communications technology is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 170% between 2019 and 2022. SNS Telecom & IT predicts that by the end of 2022, V2X will account for a market worth $1.2 billion, with an installed base of nearly 6 Million V2X-equipped vehicles worldwide.
While Toyota and other Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) proponents are pushing ahead with their plans to roll out IEEE 802.11p in North America, Europe and Japan, pre-commercial C-V2X deployments have recently gained considerable momentum, spearheaded by cellular industry giants such as Qualcomm and Huawei – with support from automakers including Ford, BMW, Daimler, Groupe PSA, SAIC, Geely, Volkswagen's luxury brand Audi, and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).
Regional markets are also visibly divided with the Chinese Government backing C-V2X, Europe leaning towards IEEE 802.11p through its recently published delegated act on C-ITS (Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems), and heated debates ensuing in the United States as a result of the 5GAA's waiver request to allow C-V2X deployments in the 5.9-GHz band.
Betting on the future
As a result, a number of automotive OEMs are beginning to adopt a flexible approach by choosing to deploy different technologies in different regions as they commit to V2X. For example, although GM has equipped its Cadillac CTS sedan vehicles with IEEE 802.11p in North America, the automaker is actively working with business partners to prepare for C-V2X deployment in China.
Besides becoming a standard safety feature on an increasing number of vehicles, V2X communications technology – through its unique non line-of-sight sensing capability – will play a critical role in ensuring the safe and efficient operation of autonomous driving systems, particularly with the commercialization of next-generation V2X standards, specifically 5G-V2X and IEEE 802.11bd.
The globally harmonized 5.9-GHz band continues to remain the preferred spectrum for V2X communications technology, with the exception of Japan – where the national regulator has allocated a single 9 MHz channel in the frequency range 755.5 – 764.5 MHz for safety-related applications based on V2V and V2I communications.
Early discussions are ongoing for the potential use of new bands, most notably in the 3.4 – 3.8 GHz and 5.9 – 7.2 GHz frequency ranges, as well as millimeter wave spectrum for LOS (Line-of-Sight) and high data rate V2X applications. Recent field trials using 39-GHz spectrum in the United States have demonstrated that millimeter propagations for V2V communications can work well in the distance range of 100 meters, without advanced beamforming techniques.
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