Accelerating V2X Solution Competition and Creating Massive Market Opportunities
Includes 5GAA roadmap including NTN communications and autonomous valet parking

[Editor's Note] 5GAA is an abbreviation for 5G Automotive Association, an international organization of companies in the automobile and communications sectors. The association aims to research and commercialize future automobile technologies such as connected cars and autonomous driving, and is oriented toward cellular-based communications. It has joined 3GPP, an international standardization organization for mobile communications, as a market representative partner. The two organizations are accelerating the development and standardization of 5G vehicles and V2X, and are establishing commercialization strategies such as solutions through various working groups. From May 8th to 11th, our magazine met with Maxime Flament, CTO of 5GAA, at the '26th 5GAA F2F Meeting Week' held at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido to hear about 5GAA and V2X technology.

▲Maxime Flament 5GAA CTO

■ I am curious about the role and ultimate goal of 5GAA.

5GAA (5G Automotive Association) encompasses the telecommunications and automotive industries and is working on various projects to popularize connected cars and create market value.

Connected cars have a variety of use cases and targets, but the most important thing 5GAA considers is to increase safety and transportation efficiency, and it also places great importance on the environment.

For the past 15 years, V2X systems have been limited to providing vehicles with only risk information. When hazard information was displayed, the driver was required to take action.

In contrast, systems have now evolved to the point where they can control vehicles in emergency situations.

Information must be transmitted to and controlled by vehicles with high reliability, and security and data quality must also be good.

5GAA has taken the reliability and security of information as major challenges and is taking its work seriously.

From a wireless communications perspective, we believe 5G V2X is the right wireless access to provide trustworthy systems such as autonomous driving.

Since its establishment in 2016, 5GAA has been developing technology step by step starting with LTE and has achieved the result that more than 50% of vehicles currently on the market support connected services.

The automotive market is expected to change rapidly over the next 10 years, with automotive OEMs expected to move toward strategies that deliver entirely new experiences in future mobility through connectivity, automation, electrification, and services.

5GAA's ultimate goal is to improve safety and traffic efficiency through connectivity in these trends, and ultimately move towards autonomous driving.

■ The theme of this event’s conference is “The Future of Connected Mobility in South Korea.” What is the level of connected mobility technology in Korea?

Korea is a very important market for 5GAA.

There are also telecommunications companies such as SKT and KT, and globally renowned automakers such as Hyundai Motors and Kia.

In addition to the large corporations mentioned above, there are many innovative small and medium-sized companies, and Etiforce, which exhibited its 5G V2X device at this conference, is one of them.

We are grateful to the Korean institutions and companies that have brought many innovations to the 5G V2X ecosystem.

The competition to secure V2X solutions is expected to accelerate, and this market will grow to a very large scale.

5GAA and its members would like to convey a message to the Korean government that they are committed to connected cars and are working to create a global harmonized solution.

■ What achievements were announced during this meeting week?

Every quarter, 5GAA brings together 160 experts to discuss the future of connected cars from a variety of perspectives.

Not every quarter brings out some eye-popping breakthrough technology.

However, 5GAA members are working hard to steadily develop their technology step by step to lead to great results.

5GAA's roadmap covers all aspects of 5G V2X and is expected to be achievable by 2030.

5G V2X must include both V2V and V2I, which is a very important task that will lead to autonomous driving.

Focus on 5G V2X for over 12 monthsThe discussions we had as an enemy brought about a major change in all communities, and we started working carefully on product plans and production plans for 5G V2X.

It is expected that 5G V2X will be widely deployed within 2030.

Some of the many achievements made over the past few months include the inclusion of Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs) in 5GAA’s plans.

A technology that maintains minimal connectivity in vehicles through satellite networks even in areas without mobile networks.

Other achievements relate to more advanced intelligent driving use cases than the above and are called Complex Interaction Use Cases.

This is a case that affects not only the vehicle's position, speed and direction, but also steering, such as lane changes and crossing intersections, and this will continue to develop to the point of autonomous driving.

Autonomous valet parking is also on the roadmap.

Autonomous valet parking, which is cited as an example of the possibility of remotely controlling vehicles in infrastructure, involves sensors in the parking lot sending information to vehicles separately from the sensors in the vehicles.
5GAA sees autonomous valet parking as a relatively easy goal to achieve among autonomous driving technologies.

In the future, these technologies may be applied not only to valet parking but also to various other services, such as car washes.

■ How can connected cars ensure safety in areas where communication is not smooth, such as areas where cell phone signals do not work?

This is a fundamental problem and we recognize it.

For connected vehicles, the connection to the cloud is minimal. It must be guaranteed, and this can be guaranteed through satellite communications.

Integration of terrestrial networks and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) appears to be very important.

Short-range communications between vehicles and infrastructure is also one way to solve the problem.

It is an independent short-range communication unrelated to the mobile network, allowing information to be sent and received without problems even in areas where cell phone coverage is not available.

■ Please say a word to Etifos, which is leading V2X technology, and Gangneung City, which is hosting the ITS General Assembly.

Etiforce is a very innovative member of 5GAA and we were also impressed with their 5G V2X prototype platform on display at today’s event.

We believe that Etiforce's efforts and achievements will accelerate the activation of 5G V2X, and we look forward to the future.

Gangneung will host the 2026 ITS World Congress. The ITS World Congress, where you can experience various innovative technologies that incorporate C-V2X technology, will also be a meaningful event for 5GAA.