Four ways 5G is driving change in the automotive industry

By James Blackman June 27, 2024

Collected at: https://www.rcrwireless.com/20240627/5g/four-ways-5g-is-driving-change-in-the-automotive-industry

Three “mega trends” are transforming the modern ‘mobility’ industry, which variously covers the crossover of the automotive, transport, and logistics sectors – basically anywhere vehicles, mostly cars, are used. These trends, according to a new report by the CTIA, the cellular industry association in the US, and the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, its equivalent for the car and light-duty truck industry, are: electrification, automation, and connectivity. 

In the end, as always, there is a chicken-and-egg debate about whether connectivity drives the rate of innovation, or innovation drives the need for connectivity. Both statements are true, of course; but the arrival of 5G has accelerated new vehicle services, features, and safety advancements. “5G is helping spur innovation across industries,” says Meredith Attwell Baker, president at CTIA, citing safety, “new experiences”, and manufacturing” as prime examples. 

John Bozzella, president at the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, describes this 5G-amped symbiosis around connected vehicles and road infrastructure as “game-changing stuff”. He comments: “Automakers are already using 5G to provide life-saving features – things like automatic collision notification services that dispatch emergency responders to the scene, and tech that contacts first responders directly from the vehicle during an emergency.”

The new report lists four ways that 5G is changing the automotive industry, as summarised below. But for the two organisations, the real purpose is about policy making. They argue that, for every $1 added to the US economy by the US automotive industry, $3.45 is created in further economic value for the country; every manufacturing job in the sector leads, somehow, to another 10.5 jobs in the rest of the economy, they argue. 

Equally, the pair cite a forecast from Boston Consulting Group, that 5G networks will add $1.5 trillion and 4.5 million jobs to the US economy (“this decade alone,” they say). But “forward-thinking” policies are required, in the US and globally. Basically, the telecoms and automotive sectors both want more spectrum, and, more globally-harmonised spectrum, they say. “We’re focused on policies that support next-generation vehicle technologies,” says Bozzella. 

Attwell Baker adds: “The wireless industry needs a pipeline of additional 5G spectrum to continue to support this innovation and ensure that America continues to be the world’s automotive technology leader.” More specifically, they write: “This includes reauthorizing the FCC’s auction authority with a pipeline of globally harmonised 5G spectrum targeted to meet consumer demand and support future industry advancement.”

They chart progress that has already been made, as below, but argue that new spectrum rules would be a confidence vote for them both – “to make long-term investments and benefit from global economies of scale for equipment and related technologies”. The full report, available here, features concrete examples; but the below summary, quoting directly from the report, says 5G has already helped to improve automotive safety, production, info-tainment, and emissions. 

1 | Automotive safety

“5G will help a vehicle automatically share crash information with first responders. Drivers and cars will use 5G to respond to real-time routing and weather information. These features and others allow parents to maintain their peace-of-mind as 5G-enabled safety features work to protect young drivers. 5G-powered infrastructure will speak with the traffic management systems around it to provide valuable information about a vehicle’s surroundings. For these and other auto safety scenarios, information is everything. 5G networks help send data faster, decrease reaction times, and support more devices that talk to each other in real time.”

2 | Automotive production

“5G is starting to play a big role in the future of auto manufacturing, giving the increasingly technical, data-driven process of assembling vehicles a competitive edge… How does 5G innovation in auto manufacturing work? 5G-connected sensors alert facility managers to inventory supply and demand, power usage, and safety issues in real time as automation keeps processes moving and AI and machine learning tools drive further improvements behind the scenes. Autonomous vehicles shuttle parts where they’re needed most and 5G-powered robots, like Roombas with superpowers, keep the factory floor clean and safe, unencumbered by wires or cables.”

3 | Automotive infotainment

“By 2027, roughly one [in] four new vehicles… will be 5G-enabled… Vehicles connected via full-power, licensed 5G spectrum bring transportation and entertainment together and transform the driving experience. Drivers will be able to pay for parking in a connected garage without fumbling through their wallets for a credit card or smartphones for an app. Passengers will be able to catch up with work, TV, or movies or level up their gaming scores as they ride, with the same quality experience they’d have at home… [5G] will allow for real-time software updates, enhancing vehicle performance and data protection via a network with security already built in.”

4 | Automotive emissions

“5G delivers information in real time. When this data is put to work in smart transportation solutions, vehicles use less power, reduce time on the road, and release fewer emissions. Think about connected traffic infrastructure. When drivers know what’s ahead of them sooner, there’s less need to accelerate or brake quickly. When sensors at intersections respond to real-time traffic flow, vehicles idle for less time at stoplights and traffic signals. And when all of this information is analyzed at lightning speed, traffic management systems are able to anticipate, flag, and resolve the congestion that unnecessarily burns fuel and adds to our carbon footprint.”