MWC2024: From Chaos to Clarity

Last year I was a little bit angsty about automotive connectivity while attending Mobile World Congress.? There were no cars and few tier 1 suppliers exhibiting. Ennui prevailed.

A range of connected car standards and regulations were in limbo at the time and it seemed – in 2023 – as if the wireless industry had bigger fish to fry than connecting cars.? What a difference a year makes.

MWC 2024 has ushered in the reality of the connectivity-defined-car.? Wireless carriers are waking up to the unique demands of car connectivity for safety-centric applications, streaming content, and emergency response.

The issues facing the automotive and wireless industry are the same in 2024 as they were in 2023.? This year, though, there was movement and progress.

On the docket for regulatory, standards, or specification setting action in 2023 were:

• Next generation eCall
• C-V2X
• Consumer-style SIMs for automobiles
• Non-terrestrial network (satellite) connectivity
• A plan for managing the 2G/3G sunset (impacting current eCall devices)

On the eve of MWC 2024 the industry got at least some clarity on these issues.?

1. On February 14th the European Commission released guidelines for car makers to conform with the new next generation eCall regulations: ?https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13845-Vehicle-safety-updated-standards-for-in-vehicle-emergency-call-systems-eCall-_en

The updated mandate is poised to take effect (new type approved cars must be 4G or 5G equipped) Jan. 1, 2026 for 4G or 5G based eCall devices capable of IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) communications vs. the existing circuit-switched technology being sunset with the shutdown of 2G and 3G networks.? Public service access points must be prepared to receive next gen eCalls by Jan. 1, 2025.? Additionally, car makers with existing type approved vehicles must shift them to 4G or 5G connectivity beginning Jan. 1, 2027.

2. Regarding C-V2X, the E.U. released a revised Intelligent Transportation System directive: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/2661/oj

In the words of one 5G Automotive Association member the revised directive:

• Updated scope and priority areas & actions: more focus on services and availability of data
• Mandated the deployment of ITS data and service by the member states / road operators e.g. via their national access point (NAP)
• Tech neutral specifications for C-ITS V2X services
• Still EU C-ITS security credential management system
• Widen geographical scope: TEN-T-> primary Roads -> urban nodes -> all
• A review is planned end 2028

The most important aspect of the revised ITS Directive is that it is tech neutral – after nearly a decade of conflict vis-à-vis competing DSRC and C-V2X standards.? The E.U. is wisely choosing to remove itself from this debate.

The benefit of the E.U. backing off is already apparent as C-V2X modules and devices have begun appearing on product roadmaps and in testing protocols throughout the market and as reflected in booths at MWC.? This is not to suggest that the path to widespread adoption and deployment of C-V2X is crystal clear, but the regulatory clouds have cleared and car companies and their suppliers are preparing for what is now seen as an eventuality.

3. Midway through 2023, the GSMA released an updated eSIM specification SPG-32 making it easier to reprovision eSIMs: https://www.gsma.com/esim/resources/sgp-32-v1-0/ The new specification impacts IoT devices – which includes cars.? Of course, this functionality was already available in SPG-22, but car makers and their suppliers welcomed the update.

4. As for non-terrestrial-network connectivity anticipated for merging satellite with cellular connections, the technology is now seen as essential to automotive connectivity and already on the roadmap as part of 5G Release 17 with an in-market arrival date of 2027 or 2028.? A coalition of five NTN providers launched the Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA) on the eve of MWC more or less serving as the starting point for expanding terrestrial mobile coverage while adhering to 3GPP standards and enabling narrowband IoT services.

Auto industry executives attending MWC were able to get a much clearer picture of vehicle connectivity than they could in 2023.? There weren’t a lot of cars at the show.? There weren’t a lot of tier 1 automotive suppliers exhibiting at the show.? But the widespread recognition of the onset of the connectivity-defined-car has changed the perceived urgency on the part of wireless carriers.? Connected cars are already consuming gigabytes of data/month and carriers must collaborate with car makers to define the business models that will fulfill those ever-increasing demands. The bigger challenge may be finding a way to bring consumers along for the ride.