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The Private Network Revolution

Boingo Private 5G Deployments

Zeto weighs in on Boingo’s private network deployments at Chicago O’Hare and Dallas Love Field Airports.

Boingo Customer Spotlight | Chicago O’Hare International Airport

Boingo launched a private network over the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD). The private cellular solution securely connects IoT devices at ORD and powers essential airport services.

Prioritizing touchless experiences, ORD activated a virtual customer service center at its Traveler’s Aid Station that required a dedicated wireless network to facilitate communications between on-site passengers and remote support staff via a live video kiosk. Because Boingo manages the converged cellular DAS and Wi-Fi network at ORD, the company had the flexibility to quickly design and deploy a cloud-based private network for the kiosk in just days, supplying the necessary bandwidth and speed for reliable, high-quality video calls. The end-to-end network was engineered with AWS to host video distribution data securely.

With the private network in place, ORD has a secure, reliable network, separate from the airport DAS and Wi-Fi, that delivers crisp, clear video calls with no interruptions. An $8.5 billion expansion and modernization project is underway at ORD to serve the needs of travelers in the 21st century and beyond. Boingo’s converged wireless networks with advanced cloud, and edge computing lay the foundation for existing and future connected airport use cases that span touchless engagement, security operations, asset tracking, and more.

Dallas Love Field Airport | Boingo Customer Spotlight

Ahead of the private cellular trend, in 2018, Boingo Wireless deployed a private LTE network on the CBRS band at Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL) to streamline airport operations.

The private network was designed to operate with maximal radio resource utilization, expanding wireless coverage and capacity at DAL. Boingo networks can leverage CBRS, a favorable mid-band spectrum that delivers seamless and secure connectivity in dense, high-trafficked areas and is more cost-effective than networks relying on licensed spectrum.

In addition to Boingo’s private network at DAL, the company powers the airport’s cellular DAS, Wi-Fi, and Passpoint networks.

BUILDING THE 5G FUTURE

Las Vegas Monorail Convention Center Station

Boingo is launching an Innovation Center in Las Vegas to test how 5G, Wi-Fi 6 and IoT technologies can enhance smart cities, entertainment, hospitality, gaming, commercial real estate, transportation, sports and other industries.

The Las Vegas Monorail Convention Center Station will be home to the new Boingo Innovation Center, which will serve as a launchpad to pilot programs for next generation wireless technologies, as well use cases like: Instant sports betting at live events AR/VR Smart utilities Security management with biometrics

Boingo will also provide connectivity at the Monorail station to connect passengers to their entertainment and productivity applications, including social media, streaming services, email, touchless ticketing, mobile boarding passes, and digital conference badges.

Transportation and beyond

Boingo’s network leadership extends beyond the transportation industry. The company connects people and things across sports and entertainment, military, commercial real estate, healthcare and manufacturing. Using a converged network approach, Boingo connects large venues and enterprises using a mix of cellular and Wi-Fi technologies, including DAS, small cells, macro towers and high-speed fiber services. By implementing these technologies, Boingo helps create safer, more efficient connected environments that drive digital transformation strategies forward.

Boingo 5G technology spotlight

Public 5G Networks

Boingo partners with Tier One carriers to deploy their networks inside large transportation venues using next generation infrastructure including DAS, small cells and macro towers. The company recently teamed up with AT&T to deploy their 5G+ in airports coast to coast, including New York and Chicago airports John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport. Boingo also works with Verizon and T-Mobile to launch their 5G service in airports and transit stations where the company manages the network.

Private 5G Networks

Boingo Private Networks are secure cellular solutions that deliver dedicated wireless bandwidth for enhanced security, coverage, capacity and speed—key elements for securely connecting next generation communications, IoT and operations. Private networks operate independently of public cellular networks to connect more devices and run data-heavy applications. A range of industries can benefit from Boingo Private Networks, including transportation, manufacturing, healthcare and government. Key use cases the technology can power range predictive maintenance, real-time video security cameras, remote traffic management, and more.

World-Class Networks for World-Class Partners

Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York

The MTA’s Grand Central Terminal East Side Access project is a perfect example of preparing for the digital future and modernizing the city’s infrastructure. East Side Access is an $11 billion project that will provide a direct connection for all Long Island Rail Road lines to Grand Central Terminal and Midtown East—serving ESA’s plan of over 160,000 passengers per day. The MTA competitively selected Boingo as the mobile network provider of choice for the East Side Access project. Boingo is designing, deploying, and will manage next-generation cellular DAS and Wi-Fi networks to improve operations and the rider experience.

Trains and train stations will offer riders fast cell coverage and Wi-Fi service so they can stay connected to work, school and entertainment. The network will also provide real-time train arrival status via the Long Island Rail Road ‘TrainTime’ app and lay the foundation for future innovations.

Wi-Fi is key for the 5G Era

London Heathrow Airport 

Boingo offers fast Wi-Fi service to passengers at London Heathrow Airport. The Wi-Fi network incorporates Passpoint technology to enable seamless roaming between Wi-Fi and cellular networks. Whether passengers are streaming, browsing or working on the go, Boingo improves their connectivity experience with the latest generation of its award-winning Wi-Fi. This is just one of many initiatives that Heathrow has invested in to serve and delight its 80 million passengers.

Brazil Airports

Boingo delivers Wi-Fi connectivity at more than 50 airports across Brazil, including São Paulo Airport (GRU). Boingo’s networks allow passengers to conveniently connect to their favorite entertainment and productivity applications, including social media, streaming services, email, and mobile boarding passes.

Why should organizations partner with Boingo?

5G is a critical component of every company’s digital transformation. Digital progress is moving at lightning speed, requiring companies to act fast and at scale. To meet transformation goals with velocity, executives are growing their partner ecosystem. While reskilling talent and building internal systems are important, external support expedites the process and simplifies 5G complexities.

Previous generations saw businesses tackle wireless networks on their own, but the intricacies of 5G call for expert service providers like Boingo, who can uniformly manage all wireless technologies – from 5G to Wi-Fi to IoT and more. Boingo can handle all of your wireless needs end to end, prioritizing convergence. Convergence is a term for unifying a combination of digital solutions into one managed system. It removes siloed approaches from business operations and will play an important role in managing the 5G networks behind digital initiatives.

With convergence, leading IT departments can rely on Boingo to integrate multiple wireless technologies throughout their enterprise with a converged architecture that applies the right 5G technology to the right 5G use case. Through convergence, Boingo enables scalable, secure, and data-driven digital transformation – and makes the promise of 5G a reality.

Deutsche Telekom is collaborating with global Ecosystem partners, including BMW, Valeo, 5GAA Alliance partners, and CAMARA Alliance partners to design, develop, test, and launch use cases for the automotive industry with 5G connectivity. This edition covers two automotive uses that Deutsche Telekom has demonstrated/launched with BMW and Valeo. Additionally, we cover the challenges and how they are mitigating them with the global ecosystem partners.

  • Automated Valet Parking with 5G
  • 5G Connectivity in Cars (e-sim)

Automated Valet Parking

Use Case Overview

Deutsche Telekom demonstrated the Automated Valet Parking (AVP) use case in partnership with BMW Group and Valeo in a public parking garage in the center of Munich. A BMW driver drops his car at the entrance of a parking garage. The car is then driven automatically without any human interaction to the next free parking space. The BMW is controlled by the backend from Valeo, which connects over the public 5G network of Deutsche Telekom, enabling quality of service measures.

Benefits

  • Better customer experience with time-saving
  • Better utilization of parking space
  • Decreasing parking cost

Ecosystem partners and solution

Deutsche Telekom provided the public 5G network and tailored network APIs to fulfill the necessary requirements with quality on demand. The data packets are transferred with always the same delay even under high load conditions (stable low latency), or the bandwidth is kept on the same level even under high load (stable bandwidth). Moreover, during the BMW car maneuvering the data, the connection is prioritized against other data connections in the same mobile cell.

BMW car is controlled by the backend from Valeo, which connects over the public 5G network of Deutsche Telekom. Valeo installed the systems in the parking infrastructure itself to enable the AVP use case and tested the 5G interfaces with Deutsche Telekom to validate the capacities of the 5G cellular network. 5G Network Slicing with integrated APIs will be a future option to fulfill these requirements in a customer-adaptable way.

Why 5G?

For the AVP use case, communication between infrastructure and cars is a safety-critical element and requires high reliability and low latency. DT’s public 5G network delivers high reliability and stable low latency to ensure the necessary safety requirements for this use case.

Outcome & Outlook

The results are convincing: cars are controlled by the system, with absolute stability and security and great advantages compared to WLAN technologies.

To ensure a seamless experience across different networks and European countries, Deutsche Telekom initiated the recently launched CAMARA project together with ecosystem partners. CAMARA project is a global API alliance with the objective to create common network APIs and address enterprise customer demand.

Further examples of new network capabilities exposed via APIs are already identified: for example, To track a device’s location, which can be used to locate drones or other IoT devices. Remote activation of low-energy sensors which are in standby mode. Dynamically adapting the needs of applications to variable network conditions, e.g., streaming a video in SD quality when network load is high and going back to HD stream as soon as the capacity is there. This ensures a smooth video streaming user experience.

Deutsche Telekom and the BMW Group are using Personal-eSIM and MobilityConnect to link vehicle connectivity with the customer’s mobile 5G network, and for the first time on a 5G-basis. MobilityConnect offers DT and BMW customers new, intelligent connectivity services in their vehicles. For EUR 9.95 per month, residential customers can add the MobilityConnect-option to an existing mobile communications contract in Germany. Similarly, in the US, T-Mobile postpaid customers can add Magenta Drive for BMW for $20 per month.

In Germany, the service can be booked very simply via an app. Booking the rate option activates the eSIM for the vehicle. MobilityConnect gives customers a personal user profile. Once registered, the driver can download the personal profile in any enabled vehicle with eSIM. The activated Personal eSIM is directly linked to the customer’s BMW ID. It can be used, along with connected functions, in any enabled vehicle. This turns the vehicle into another connected device for customers, just like a smartwatch, even when the smartphone is not in the vehicle. A Bluetooth connection to the smartphone is also no longer necessary.

Ecosystem Partners and Solution

BMW

BMW Group is deploying 5G and eSIM in the BMW iX and BMW i4 commercial vehicles, a real-world first in networking. In addition, a personal eSIM is also deployed in the BMW iX and BMW i4, as previously seen on smart devices such as tablets or smartwatches, in addition to the standard integrated vehicle eSIM. The mobile phone technology installed in the vehicle enables both eSIMs to be active with 5G simultaneously with the full range of services (DualSIM-Dual-Active).

The BMW iX multi-aerial system, specially developed for 5G, routes the radio signal from the performance-optimized multi-band aerials directly to the vehicle’s infotainment system via a Gigabit Ethernet connection. This improves the connection quality and increases data throughput for all passengers in the vehicle because a 5G wifi hotspot can be activated in the vehicle via the personal eSIM.

Deutsche Telekom

Deutsche Telekom provides the 5G connectivity to BMW iX and BMW i4 vehicles as a standard for the first time via MobilityConnect. The vehicle’s eSIM can be easily activated with the MobilityConnect option via the existing mobile phone contract of the DT customer.

Benefits to the customer

In the BMW iX and BMW i4, Deutsche Telekom customers can experience the best entertainment and smart connectivity on the road from the high-bandwidth and low-latency 5G connectivity in their vehicles. The car offers significantly improved telephony quality and enables a 5G wifi hotspot for up to ten devices in the vehicle.

Why 5G?

5G high-speed data transmission rates of up to 1 gigabit per second and low latencies in vehicles significantly enhance the entertainment and infotainment applications and related experience for the customers on the road.

Outcome & Outlook

BMW iX and BMW i4 customers are already experiencing the best entertainment and smart connectivity on the road from the high-bandwidth and low-latency 5G connectivity in their vehicles. The 5G connectivity service is also planned for other vehicles. In the future, the networking of mobile services by means of 5G-capable eSIM will enable further services such as video streaming or cloud gaming directly via the vehicle.

5G will improve the mobility of the future in many areas. For example, new applications such as local black ice warnings in real-time or intelligent traffic guidance via direct data communication of the vehicle with the traffic infrastructure, such as traffic lights, are already being tested today and support the driver while driving. Together with the BMW Group, DT is working on further 5G-based solutions in the area of mobility. The use cases for 5G in the automotive industry not only include the needs of passengers in cars. In the future, 5G will also be indispensable for automated communication between various interfaces in the vehicle and between road users.

Intelligent transport infrastructure through interconnectedness

The foundations for autonomous driving are fast and reliable communication networks, such as LTE and 5G. Therefore, Deutsche Telekom plans to install the 5G network on all key transport routes – such as freeways, main roads, and rail tracks – by 2025.

Experts from various sectors are working at the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA), defining the basics for common standards in order to ensure that the new mobile communication standard meets the specific requirements for interconnecting the various transport users and for automated driving.

Connected cars with their digital and location-related services can greatly improve our driving comfort. The car relies on regular data updates for navigation, e.g., detailed road maps, plus updates in unexpected traffic situations, such as congestion, rain, or black ice. In combination with apps for the driver and cloud systems, information for maintenance or other status reports can be retrieved and sent.

These functions are already realized today with edge computing, based on LTE at a transmission rate of up to 300 megabits per second and latencies of less than 100 milliseconds, even in emergencies or remote-controlled driving at low speeds. 5G will offer even higher quality for many digital in-car services in the future.

5G network expands automated systems

Safety aspects are a focus of attention in driving a car. Automated systems reach their limits when unexpected or unknown situations occur. In such a case, an “autopilot” will decide to deactivate the system for safety reasons if in doubt.

An automated car would then return the task and responsibility of driving to the human driver. However, if the vehicle is not taken over by the driver or is not as quickly as required, the car will be moved to the roadside in a secure driving mode. With 5G, the car could, for instance, be controlled remotely by an external operator acting as a traffic controller.

However, remote control through an operator is impossible without a 5G network, which offers key features such as very short response times and guaranteed network resources.

Benefits of 5G for autonomous driving

Network Slicing and Network Exposure Function (NEF)

One huge benefit of 5G is what is known as network slicing. The wireless network is subdivided into virtual network levels. One network level is then used only for automated driving, for instance. In addition, the Network Exposure Function (NEF) in 5G provides access to basic network capabilities and network APIs to build and expose special service APIs tailored for specific use cases and associated applications. The service API can make specific network capabilities available at the application level.

This ensures, for example, that safety-relevant notifications to self-driving cars will not end up in a congested network cell and will be given priority over other infotainment services used in parallel.

5G with Edge Data Centers

Another benefit is the data processing and storage in data centers close to the transport routes. Such “edge” data centers ensure that data can be processed even faster in the network. In the initial 5G tests on the A9 freeway between Nuremberg and Munich, latencies of less than 20 milliseconds were achieved. An autonomous car driving at a speed of 100 km/h would have traveled a mere 60 centimeters in that time. The virtual network levels and short transmission paths guarantee important quality features of the 5G mobile technology, such as low latencies and high bandwidths.

5G equipped Transport Infrastructure

Sensors are used to implement car-to-car communication for automated driving. This includes, for example, intelligent camera systems, which enable the direct exchange of data between the cars. These systems have crucial physical disadvantages, however. They can neither look around corners, nor over hills, nor through obstacles. This is why they restrict the functioning of self-driving cars.

This simple form of automation is also unsuitable at higher speeds. This is where the 5G network offers another huge advantage. 5G mobile technology expands the scope of autonomous mobility through direct and, above all, fast and broadband data communication with cars and an appropriately equipped transport infrastructure, such as traffic lights. This can ensure improved traffic flows by enabling cars to travel at higher speeds or reducing their speed in good time when necessary.

What are Deutsche Telekom’s plans for launching new 5G use cases?

To enable new use cases and to improve the customer experience, Deutsche Telekom launched the “5G Early Access Program”. Deutsche Telekom built a unique indoor and outdoor testbed at hubraum in Berlin, where developers, startups, corporates, and hyperscalers can test Deutsche Telekom’s 5G APIs directly on a fully functional 5G standalone core network.

Deutsche Telekom’s easy-to-use 5G APIs interact directly with its 5G radio access network (RAN). They allow participants to obtain information from the network, such as location, congestion, and more, or configure network settings.

These APIs, such as 5G Latency API, 5G QoS API, or 5G Throughput API, can, for example, set the quality of service for a device or IP flow. DT supports participants during the complete lifecycle of the program and provides working space, active mentoring, and passive communication channels for their questions. It also continues to add new 5G APIs throughout the year, including standardized APIs through the CAMARA alliance’s Early Access Program.

What use cases is Verizon working on in the transportation sector?

The transportation sector is going through a massive transformation. The future of transportation will be connected, autonomous, electric, and shared. At the same time, we are launching the fifth generation of cellular communication standards based on 3GPP. Many other technologies are coming into play, including multi-access edge computing, hybrid precise location services, and CV2X.

Some of these technologies will be the key enablers for the transportation sector to achieve its goals. They are working towards deploying the vehicles of tomorrow that are safer, greener, and more efficient, and we are helping them achieve those goals with our technologies. We would focus on Pedestrian safety and traffic efficiency use cases.

Pedestrian Safety Use Case

Verizon recently demonstrated a pedestrian safety use case in Virginia with Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), Virginia DOT, and other ecosystem partners. The pedestrian safety use case alerts the vehicles if a pedestrian is in the path and alerts the pedestrians if a vehicle is approaching. This would help prevent accidents, most of which are related to pedestrians or bicyclists. The use case is enabled via 5G, MEC, and hyper-precise centimeter-level accuracy technologies. More details here.

Verizon also explored another use case where the pedestrian is crossing a street at an intersection with another ecosystem partner. An approaching driver cannot see the pedestrian due to a building obstructing the view. Smart cameras mounted in the intersection relay information to MEC using the 5G network. Verizon’s MEC and V2X software platforms detect pedestrians and vehicles and determine the precise location of road users, assisted by Verizon’s Hyper Precise Location services. A visual warning message is sent, alerting the driver of the potential danger. More details here.

Traffic Efficiency Use Case

Verizon explored an Emergency Vehicle Warning Scenario with an ecosystem partner. A driver cannot see an approaching emergency vehicle and cannot hear its siren due to the high volume of in-vehicle audio. Verizon’s MEC and V2X software receive a safety message from the emergency vehicle and send a warning message to nearby vehicles. The driver receives a visual warning on the approaching emerging vehicle and moves out of the way. More details here.

Another example is related to making our commutes easier – you get green light throughout your commute from home to work. As we are returning from the pandemic, we are not used to those traffic jams and commutes. This technology could make your commute easier. The mentioned use cases are very tangible that the automakers are testing today. Also, the state officials of the Department of Transportation are testing them on live networks and real roads. These are just a few use cases. 5GAA has defined 200+ use cases where both the MNOs and the automakers have jointly worked in defining those use cases and requirements for those use cases. And we have selected a few of them specifically suitable for 5G, MEC, and other technologies like V2X.

Why 5G when Some use cases are already enabled via LTE/4G?

There are many vehicles today on the road equipped with 4G/ LTE, and we are deploying many of these use cases with 4G. So 4G is here to stay. And Verizon always ensures that our cellular technologies are backward and forward compatible. Where 5G really shines is not just with the data rates but also with lower latency, higher reliability, and higher throughput. Within Verizon, we call it eight currencies of 5G. In addition, we are deploying 5G on a mid-band spectrum that provides coverage, capacity, and enables new capabilities.

For use cases such as vulnerable users, we stream video of the pedestrian over the 5G uplink to the MEC and then notifications back to the users. If we consider 100,000 vehicles on the road sending this massive amount of data and videos to the network – there is a need for the bandwidth, capacity, and ultra-low latency that 5G offers. It’s no coincidence that we are deploying these use cases leveraging 5G and MEC because the requirements of these use cases are very tight and stringent, and a 4G/ LTE network can not meet those requirements. Hence the need for 5G to support advanced use cases.

What are the 5G adoption challenges in the transportation sector?

The number one challenge is to choose use cases that will have an immediate impact and then deploy them in a public network in a commercial setting. The second aspect has to do with technological challenges. We’ve already solved most of the technical problems in the last three to four years, and we’re working on getting our networks ready for emerging technological demands and challenges. However, the bigger barrier is in the actual commercial deployment of these use cases.

Deploying at scale is another big challenge. When you consider the number of automobiles on the road and the prediction that by 2030, 96 percent of cars on the road will be connected to 5G, which will stream a tremendous amount of data. So the challenge we would face is how to scale this technology? These are bigger challenges than the technical ones. We can tackle these technical challenges with the technological know-how we have within Verizon and our partners, but it’s the commercialization, scale, and regulations that will play a bigger role.

What is AT&T’s vision for 5G and the transportation sector?

Cellular by design is made for the macro network and is built out to scale across large geographic regions. Historically, the big carriers, such as AT&T, have had robust networks, especially domestically. What’s more, FirstNet has compelled us to cover 99.99% of the country for first responders.

We have also continued to improve our public 5G and LTE networks at scale, acquiring more spectrum, fiber, and everything else it supports the contractual obligations. However, as you examine the automobile companies and the transportation partners we collaborate with, they ask for more than a simple connection.

Automobile companies are looking for more throughput, next-generation applications from autonomous driving to platooning, and better connections through the supply chain for their vehicles and fleets.

So we must look at how the network builds and how the construct comes together to converge. How do applications and networks converge to drive the next generation of experience that these companies and their customers are starting to ask for more and more every day?

Who are some of the customers that AT&T is working with? What are the use cases?

The first is General Motors (GM), with whom we have a multi-year collaboration for their connected cars and fleet that is rolling off the assembly line. We are trying to have an impact from the moment that GM places the module on the production line. When looking at it from an inside out topology – whether it’s the worker that’s in there working and putting the machine together or the machine putting the machine together, making sure we can interact safely with the environment around it. At the same time, as soon as that component is put in the vehicle, they can light it up and begin pulling down the updates it needs to ensure that it’s completely prepared when the vehicle rolls off or comes ready to roll out.

From a supply chain standpoint, they’ll move it from the factory to the dealership, and we want to make certain that the dealership is a microcosm of the macro world so that future upgrades are available. We’re looking at it from an end-to-end perspective, not just in terms of what’s in the vehicle and what will drive the experience inside the vehicle. But also how that vehicle interacts with the rest of the world around it. e.g., in terms of new smart city applications. 5G will offer even higher quality for many digital in-car services in the future. In the same way, our partners at Ford have many ideas about how to improve the customer experience when they are looking for automobiles.

AT&T and General Motors

5G connectivity from AT&T will first be available in 2024 in select GM models. Network enhancements will include: Improved roadway-centric coverage Faster music and video downloads with higher quality Faster, more reliable, and secure over-the-air software updates Faster navigation, mapping, and voice services When launched, GM will provide access for its strategic partners to connect over AT&T’s 5G network, raising the bar for the interoperability and scale necessary to deliver future mobility services, such as e-commerce, smart city, and vehicle-to-electric grid. 

AT&T and Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company and AT&T have partnered to enhance the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center on Ford’s historic Dearborn Rouge site by outfitting it with 5G cellular connectivity to help build the new all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning pickup.

Ford’s private 5G network based on AT&T 5G with AT&T’s Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) technology will support the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning F-Series truck production. 5G connectivity can help support the electric vehicle landscape by enabling future capabilities at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, including the ability to: Support New Technology – Employees use tablet computers to send and receive information about equipment status and material supply on the production line.

Phones are also used as a vision system to scan specific components of the vehicle for accuracy. Both phones and tablets will have 5G capability for faster processing times and better connection. 5G will support additional applications as the devices are updated to enable 5G connectivity. Improve Automated Industrial Vehicles and Machinery – Employee safety is the highest priority for any production facility.

The lower latency of 5G can help automated robotics and machinery make better decisions and faster reaction times to improve workers’ safety. Enable Faster Wireless Vehicle Updates – Previously, vehicle software updates had to be made using mobile computing hardware, but now Ford makes these updates wirelessly. The 5G technology at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center will provide a better connection for these updates, saving processing time. 

What are 5G adoption challenges in the transportation sector?

First and foremost, 5G is an evolution of LTE. So the traffic capacity and speeds are table stakes. But now, as we have moved past LTE, software-defined networking has emerged. Spectrum options and new methods to use the spectrum are also becoming apparent. It has opened up the possibility of various things, some of which we are yet to discover. That is the real beauty of adopting 5G. Beyond traffic capacity and speed, how we accomplish the following stage is interesting, and it involves ecosystem play. The customers provide us with suggestions that go beyond the requirements for speeds and feed The good news with software-defined is you can do more with it. But, as with any other software, if it isn’t user-defined, you may not get the experience you desire on the other side.

The advanced capabilities and setups we’re trying to create require us to work together to reach the true potential of this converged architecture that everybody’s talking about. We are beginning to see coming together in small pockets, starting in the labs. But now, how can we scale this? We look at some of the environments we’ve created together with our research partners, such as Texas A&M University and JBG SMITH’s National Landing smart city project in Northern Virginia with Amazon. How can they participate and assist our partners to feel that they can test these technologies in real live environments? And that’s where we’ll get to see the next generation of adoption when companies will be able to try and test some of these technologies in real-time & in real environments.

AT&T and Texas A&M University

AT&T and The Texas A&M University System’s RELLIS Campus partnered to launch 5G technology to promote 5G innovation, exploration, education, and training. The campus is open for public and private sector participants to access the testbeds to explore 5G-powered autonomous vehicles, robotics, roadside safety, physical security, large-scale infrastructure, autonomous agriculture, the Internet of Things, and smart cities, among other predicted use cases.

Research in the area of autonomous vehicles and roadside safety will have direct impacts in a variety of fields, including ground and aviation transportation. Researchers will test the use of smart intersection grids that allow sensors and human factors for decision-making on the road, and precision navigation, so a vehicle knows its surroundings for safe operations. 

AT&T and JBG SMITH

AT&T and JBG SMITH are collaborating to deliver the first 5G Smart City at scale in National Landing, home to Amazon’s second headquarters and Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus, in the first half of 2022. 5G, with local area compute edges, could make National Landing a prototype for smart cities of the future and create a unified consumer experience across asset types.

The area could also enhance offerings in mobility and self-driving vehicles, immersive retail and entertainment, building automation, and environmental sustainability. A combination of mmWave and sub6 5G spectrum will be enabled by an interconnected series of building side-mounts, street furniture, and underground network infrastructure. AT&T and JBG SMITH envision National Landing as a canvas for smart city innovation in industry clusters such as defense, cybersecurity, cloud/edge computing, internet of things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI). The robust technology infrastructure that is expected could give businesses, residents, and visitors the opportunity to connect everything and everyone in near real-time. 

5GAA

The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) is a global, cross-industry organization bridging the gap between automotive, technology, and telecom industries and promoting the C-V2X technology (Cellular vehicle-to-everything), a comprehensive platform for connected vehicles, safety, and transportation.

The association was created in September 2016 by its eight founding members: AUDI AG, BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Nokia, and Qualcomm Incorporate, and it now unites more than 120 companies diverse both in terms of geography and expertise. These include automotive manufacturers, tier-1 suppliers, chipset/communication system providers, mobile operators, and infrastructure vendors. You can find the full list of members here.

5GAA’s members are committed to helping define and develop global solutions for the next generation of connected mobility and automated vehicle solutions to address the complex challenge of providing enhanced safety, sustainability, and convenience for all road users. For any other information about the association, you can refer to its website.

Leveraging Today’s and Tomorrow’s Mobility Solutions

Under its current Work Programme, 5GAA seeks to leverage innovative 5G-V2X solutions for a transportation system benefiting all road users. See more info in the 5G Magazine.

5GAA Role

5GAA addresses society’s connected mobility needs, bringing inclusive access to smarter, safer, and environmentally sustainable services and solutions integrated into intelligent road transportation and traffic management.

5GAA unites and drives consensus between key stakeholders. The association offers a unique joint industry view on global and regional connected mobility matters. Connectivity improves the driving experience by revolutionizing the mobility ecosystem.

SMART – 5G-V2X allows vehicles to communicate real-time and highly reliable information with their surroundings.

SAFE – 5G-V2X allows vehicles to communicate real-time and highly reliable information with their surroundings.

SUSTAINABLE – 5G-V2X helps reduce emissions by optimizing traffic management and allowing more energy-efficient driving behaviors.

EFFICIENT – 5G-V2X optimizes traffic flows, reducing congestion.

INCLUSIVE – 5G-V2X aims to encompass the entire mobility ecosystem, including vulnerable road users and the infrastructure.

5GAA Pillars

5GAA is working on the basis of 5 association pillars: as the first and overarching pillar, 5GAA aims to bring value to its members. Four main pillars help to achieve this overarching pillar:

(1) Enable deployment by lifting barriers and accelerating time-to-market

(2) Contribute to standardization via pre-standardization efforts of automotive connectivity

(3) Advocate policymakers by addressing regional opportunities and threats

(4) Leverage innovative solutions within the larger connected automotive community

The association is contribution-driven and only exists through collaborations and communications between its members.

Advancing Connected Mobility Solutions and Leading the Transportation New Era

Cellular-V2X (C-V2X) – C-V2X is an integrated automotive technology standardized by 3GPP, enabling a comprehensive road safety and traffic efficiency solution that allows vehicles to communicate with surrounding vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians, road infrastructure, and the mobile network.

Towards 5G-V2X – C-V2X continually evolves over multiple releases in 3GPP. The first major milestone was achieved in 2017 by completing LTE-V2X in Release 14, including both direct and mobile network communications delivering basic safety use cases. In 2020, 5G-V2X was completed in Release 16, also combining direct and mobile network communications to enable advanced and automated driving use cases.

5GAA Achievements

5GAA has helped transform C-V2X technology from a standard into a market reality and has established 5G as the reference for future automotive connectivity. The association, which celebrates this year its 5th Anniversary, is now regarded as the global lead organization on automotive connectivity, successfully connecting the whole automotive and telecoms value chain.

Bridging these two industries have been synonymous with enhanced collaboration between companies to push the technology forward and offer a platform for members to discuss and develop partnerships to make C-V2X technology on roads a reality. This is regularly shown through the numerous plugfests and live demonstrations organized by the association several times a year.

Recent examples include: 5GAA partners with ETSI for the third ETSI C-V2X Plugtests™ event hosted by DEKRA at its Automobil Test Center in Klettwitz, Germany Live Trial of 5G Connected Car Concept Launches in Blacksburg, Virginia (VA) Live Trial of 5G Connected Car Concept To Launch in Turin, Italy The association has also managed to secure relevant partnerships Standards Development Organisations and public authorities and voiced its position on global deployment agendas.

5G Connected Car Concept Live Trials

5G Automotive Association (5GAA) and eight-member companies conducted a live trial of a new driver and pedestrian safety concept that allows near-real-time notification of roadway hazards through 5G and edge technologies in Blacksburg, Virginia (VA) and Turin, Italy. The connected car concept uses high-speed and edge computing technology to communicate with car sensors and pedestrian smartphones via a user-authorized mobile app—about traffic hazards, like accidents and road construction—for Pedestrian and in-vehicle driver safety and efficient navigation.

The live trial had three objectives:

Objective 1: Multi-MNO scenario: How can a vehicle, which has radio access to MNO A, use a MEC application, which is operated by MNO B -> Interworking between MNOs (by NOT losing the benefits of low latency)

Objective 2: Global Operational Availability: How can an OEM as the MEC application developer be sure, especially on a global basis, that a MEC application works in the same way if it’s operated by MNO A, or if it’s operated by MNO B

Objective 3: Multi-MNO with roaming scenario: Where the two operators can seamlessly transfer the V2X service from one operator to the other as the car OEM moves from one geo to the other in a roaming scenario. Typically, when an in-vehicle driver does cross-border travel, that involves two operators.

Benefits

One of the key benefits of the trials is the value demonstrated by bringing in a large ecosystem to help develop not only the technology but also build the business case and model that will help drive the potential market adoption for 5G and C-V2X to help into the digital transformation of smart cities of the future.

To succeed in this endeavor, it will need a village and investment from both public and private sectors to help adopt this new technology to provide a quality of life for all citizens.

What Were the Challenges?

Once the use cases are successfully validated, some of the challenges that the industry needs to address include:

  • Implementation of the use case across telco networks and countries, including application portability
  • Accelerate technology development and commercial adoption of the use cases in partnership with the automotive industry
  • Provide seamless and tailored customer experience
  • Fulfill data privacy and regulatory requirements

How Are you mitigating the challenges with CAMARA, the telco global API alliance?

CAMARA project was launched early this year to mitigate the above challenges. The goal of the project is to enable seamless access to 4G/5G network capabilities through APIs. 4G/5G functions let you extract information from the network and set it up. These capabilities’ on-demand, secure, and controlled exposure will enable operators to build service enablement platforms that allow for the integration of applications with networks and the provision of better customer experiences in the 5G era.

Abstraction from Network APIs to Service APIs is necessary: To hide telco complexity making APIs easy to consume for customers with no telco expertise (user-friendly APIs) To fulfill data privacy and regulatory requirements To facilitate application to network integration.

Availability across telco networks and countries is necessary: To ensure a seamless customer experience To accelerate technology development and commercial adoption (minimize implementation effort) To accelerate education and promotion To support application portability.

CAMARA is an open-source project within Linux Foundation to define, develop and test APIs. CAMARA collaborates with the GSMA Operator Platform Group to align API requirements and publish API definitions and APIs. CAMARA is closely aligned with standardization organizations like TMForum or ETSI MEC.

Harmonization of APIs is achieved through fast and agile created working code with developer-friendly documentation. API definitions and reference implementations are free to use (Apache2.0 license). For more information or to get involved, go to gsma.com/camara and camaraproject.org.

CAMARA Scope | Telco APIs

From a functional perspective, the scope is limited to telco APIs, which means APIs in the domain of telco mobile networks, telco fixed-line networks, or supporting these.

Thereby the focus is on the northbound interface (between telco operator and aggregator or capability consumer). To enable API roaming also the east-/westbound interface (telco operator to telco operator) is considered.

Eight universal network APIs are available at launch, including SIM Swap, Quality on Demand (QoD), Device Status (Connected or Roaming Status), Number Verify, Edge Site Selection and Routing, Number Verification (SMS 2FA), Carrier Billing – Check Out and Device Location (Verify Location).

Further APIs are expected to be launched throughout 2023. The APIs are defined, developed, and published in CAMARA, the open-source project for developers that is driven by the Linux Foundation in collaboration with the GSMA.

To illustrate a potential application of the QoD API, Henry Calvert, Head of Networks at GSMA, provided the example of a virtual music concert where musicians are based in different locations. In addition, the 5G Future Forum (5GFF) will enable musicians from all over the world to jam over the 5G networks of Rogers, Verizon and Vodafone, while KDDI, Telefónica, Mawari and Sturfee will showcase online shopping with the XR Digital Twin Store. Elsewhere, Deutsche Telekom is demonstrating applications of APIs, including QoD, alongside Matsuko and Orange.

THE FUTURE OF DRIVING IS AUTOMATED

Mobility is undergoing a transformation unlike anything we have seen before. At the BMW Group, this presents us with enormous challenges. We are meeting this head-on with innovative technologies – but the safety of our customers always remains our top priority. We already offer driver assistance systems, such as speed, steering, and lane control assistants. With these developments, we are on the threshold of highly-automated driving. It will still be a few years before series-production vehicles are capable of autonomous driving. The automotive industry categorizes this development into five levels.

DRIVER, CAR, AND SURROUNDINGS BECOME ONE

Intelligent connectivity makes mobility much easier, safer, and more convenient for our customers. With its Connected Services for BMW, MINI, and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers in this field of technology, with more than 20 years of experience in driver assistance systems and digital services. In the past 10 years alone, the BMW Group’s constant efforts to advance digital connectivity have been recognized with more than 50 national and international awards.

Connected Services at BMW, MINI, and BMW Motorrad

BMW ConnectedDrive is currently available in 48 countries and already installed in more than 14 million vehicles driving on roads around the world. A steadily growing number of digital touchpoints, such as Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant or the MY BMW App, ensure the vehicle is fully connected. With over 20 years of expertise in User Interface and Experience, the new BMW iDrive offers our customers a seamless experience and access to all digital products and services in the car.

MINI Connected enables in 43 markets worldwide a new era of connectivity. All-new MINI models are available with the option of a built-in SIM card. This allows MINI drivers to access a digital world of personalized services designed to make day-to-day mobility and planning even easier. With the MINI App, they always stay connected to their car.

At BMW Motorrad, connectivity is all about fast, clear information for the driver, with minimum distraction from traffic and a unique operating concept. Functionality such as Bluetooth connectivity, the innovative TFT Display, and Connected Apps make BMW motorcycles safer and more fun to ride.

Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) for Safer Mobility

Valeo has made advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) a key focus of its innovations for safer mobility. Valeo demonstrated an Automated Valet Parking system in partnership with Deutsche Telekom and BMW at the IAA Mobility, 2021.

Smart Lighting Systems Connected with 5G – Valeo’s smart lighting systems include headlamps that trace the shape of the road and indicate upcoming turns in the driver’s field of vision. The rear lamps, which are connected to the vehicle’s cameras and surroundings via the 5G network, will signal hazards by displaying safety messages visible to all road users.

Valeo LiDAR Scanner – Valeo’s third-generation LiDAR scanner will be making its public debut before being available in 2024. This LiDAR scanner can detect objects invisible to the human eye, cameras, and radars, located at distances of more than 200 meters. In addition, its perception and analytical capabilities enable the driver to delegate driving to the vehicle in highway situations.

Valeo’s NFL (Near Field LiDAR), when used on driverless, autonomous vehicles, this innovation creates a safety “bubble” around them. As soon as the vehicle starts, it can display a 360° vision of its surroundings. On a highly automated car, it provides peripheral vision, eliminating blind spots.

Valeo VoyageXR Panorama – Valeo VoyageXR Panorama offers a broader, even more impressive vision. This technology provides a drone’s perspective – without the drone. In practice, it displays on a screen a 3D, 360° view of the car driving down the road, as if it were filmed by a drone. This innovation offers enhanced safety in remote-controlled autonomous vehicles and creates new travel experiences blurring the boundaries between real and virtual.

Valeo Intelligent Interior – Valeo has now extended its role in assistance and protection to inside the vehicle by creating an intelligent interior. Valeo Safe Insight combines several technologies to Identify the driver and alert him or her in the event of distraction or drowsiness, Recognize when passengers are on board and remind them to buckle their seatbelts, Detect when there is someone in a stationary car and raise the alarm if a child has been left behind.

Valeo Air filter for Covid-19 Detection – Valeo has developed a terminal designed to detect health risks. The device can detect Covid-19 in under two minutes without any patient contact, with the same level of accuracy as a PCR test.

SCF Private Network Blueprints

Ravi provides an update on the current status of the blueprints, with a focus on the automotive sector blueprint and federated artificial intelligence.

SCF started the blueprint initiative last year in October. As a part of this 5G enterprise private network blueprint initiative, SCF is developing a series of technical and deployment blueprints to address an important gap in the mobile network market. These will provide common reference designs and deployments that reduce the time, cost, and risk of developing small cell networks. Nowadays, many smaller private network operators are getting hundreds of millions of funding.

That means the private enterprise market is hot, and our work will positively impact the industry. SCF has done great work developing components around FAPI, N-FAPI, and Sub-6 reference designs, neutral host-related interfaces, open6, etc. The target is to develop a whole ecosystem and develop a marketplace on top of it to take small cells to the next-generation services.

The functional layout of dedicated enterprise private small cell networks

See the related architecture diagram in the 5G Magazine.

SCF is currently making good progress on the blueprints and developing Minimum Viable offerings (MVPs). A lot of work is already in place. We are always looking for partnerships and collaborations to grow and provide highly packageable blueprints and frameworks for the world.

The October press release mentioned that SCF is working on blueprints for several verticals, including automotive, industry 4.0, and smart city. In that context, SCF would like to collaborate with many Standardized Development Organizations (SDOs) and other industry players.

SCN Service Slice: Automotive

One of the SCF goals is to promote and ensure smartly stitched cognitive connectivity frameworks that will support the connectivity piece or infotainment piece in automotive, focusing on outdoor small cells, sub6 or millimeter-wave. This is an area where SCF is developing blueprints and building a small cell ecosystem around it.

But the most important piece that SCF can add to the automotive SDOs like 5GAA is

  • How to bring the roadside units and small cells together
  • How to bring the edge infrastructure together in such a way that this becomes a common fabric, and
  • How the telco edge and an automotive edge become a common fabric

Federated AI platform Play: Automotive Use Case

See the architecture diagram in the 5G Magazine.

The above diagram shows different layers forming a complete automotive ecosystem. The top layer is a software-defined car consisting of a vehicle, vehicle mobile edge infra, central ECU, vehicle sensors and IoT networks, infotainment, CV2X platforms, vehicle OTA platforms, and cloud-native centralized EEA. They are all integral parts of the next-generation cars.

Multiple networks interface inside the car based on regulatory aspects. The car interfaces with smart city networks and hyper-scalar networks to access some of the specific cloud-based applications. All those areas need different layers of support. E.g., 5G connectivity for infotainment from the MNO, CV2x connectivity from RSUs and infrastructure vendors. There is a possibility of combining two or more boxes and building a cost-effective solution.

The CV2X RSU piece and the 5G RAN can coordinate from the 5G network connectivity side. The county smart city network consisting of smart security, smart traffic infra, smart city, and other smart city services can provide connectivity from another side. All these components need coordination to converge into a single-edge infrastructure.

Additionally, coordination with the marketplace hyper scalars like AWS, Azure, Google, and others related to mobility service, infotainment, automotive app, advanced analytics, industrial cloud, enhanced autopilot, and OTA platforms is also required. All four layers need to coordinate, operate, and cooperate to build a real ecosystem and smart service like CV2X. This would be possible when multiple SDOs like 3GPP, SCF, ORAN, 5GAA, and county network providers work together under a common orchestration or automation framework.

A federated AI/ML engine on the top can coordinate across the layers to allow for data monetization and federated learning – that is the goal. Different SDOs, at their own capacity, are doing their level best, but coordination and cooperation are the mantras of success, especially in enabling the CV2X.

This would enable innovation, and SCF is in a good place to collaborate with some of the forward-thinking SDOs like 5GAA. Other SDOs, like ORAN, are also interested in going in that direction. We all can work together to create an effective, optimal, and flexible ecosystem in terms of connectivity that will be good for service chaining and next-generation service infrastructure.

5G/ 6G Telco-based wireless MNO and FWA industry is governed and regulated by 3GPP, ORAN, ETSI, SCF, and other SDOs, whereas Productization and Certification framework is going to Facebook TIP initiative and similar organizations. Data processing (Data Lake, Data Warehousing, and Analytics ) proposal is guided by ORAN.

Automotive is regulated and governed by 5GAA like organizations, which define Automotive Edge Fabric as well as Roadside and Car Modules for V2I and V2V communications. Smart City Networks (Traffic Light Networks, Hazard Warnings, Pollution Level- Air Quality Index, and more) have no global SDO. Federated AI can bring all three platforms to one so that a combined Data Lake and warehouse with all analytics needed to cross communicate and a common data framework are available for Public consumption.

Consumer value will be converted into business potential

  • Many automotive manufacturers have announced ambitious plans for adding software services like streaming content, usage-based insurance,
  • Advanced Driver Assistance System features to the consumer ARPU for these services is expected to be about $60 per month (Source: an internal analysis based on multiple sources e.g. GM, Stellantis)
  • 2022 will see a preview of these features from Auto OEMs & supplier

The enhanced in-vehicle experience through 5G & XR technologies

5G is the lifeblood of the future virtual, augmented, and mixed reality entertainment Metaverse, an all-encompassing and pervasive interface for the gaming world, has seen a meteoric rise following Facebook’s rebranding to Meta 2022 will lay the foundation to build the trends to make consumers addicted to these features.

Autonomous feature integration into vehicles

According to IDC, more than 50% of the vehicles produced by 2024 will have some level of autonomous features Lidars and V2X sensors will push the ability to improve 360-degree situational awareness 2022 will see more and more premium cars available with level 3 autonomy.

Security & Safety integration into vehicles

The automotive industry is expected to have an impact of $54B by 2024 due to data breaches and ransomware attacks (Source: Cybersecruityventures & internal analysis) 2022 will see demonstrations of how cloud-based security can lay the foundation for preventing cybersecurity attacks.

Prediction of 5G licensing for Auto OEM supply chain

  • 80% of the cars will be cellular-connected by 2025 (Source: Statista)
  • The world has seen fixed cellular licensing from companies like Avanci 3$/vehicle for e-call only, $9/vehicle for 3G (includes 2G, eCall), $15/vehicle for 4G (includes 2G/3G/eCall)
  • 2022 will lay the foundation for fixed pricing for 5G licensing, we predict a range of $21/vehicle to $27/vehicle (that includes 2G/3G/4G/eCall)
Read the complete article in the 5G Magazine

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