O2 has signed an agreement to provide 5G connectivity for the testing of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) in urban test-bed, the Smart Mobility Living Lab (SMLL) in London.
O2’s 3.4GHz 5G-ready spectrum will enable car manufacturers, self-driving technology companies and start-ups, as well as other private and public organisations involved in the transport ecosystem to test both vehicle to vehicle (V2V) and vehicle to road communications (V2X) in a real-world environment.
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SMLL is a government-backed CAV test-bed based in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
It comprises expertise from across the transport and technology sectors including TRL, Cisco, DG Cities, London Legacy Development Corporation, Cubic Transportation Systems and Loughborough University. O2 has now agreed to collaborate with SMLL to provide 5G connectivity to the test-bed.
The high capacity of 5G allows for vehicles to transmit large amounts of data, including 4K video, to intelligent cloud-based transport systems, which are expected to improve road safety and help traffic authorities to monitor and manage traffic flow.
“We know the transport sector is going to be one of the key beneficiaries of 5G – and the technology has the potential to reduce traffic congestion as well as making journeys safer and more enjoyable,” said O2 CTO, Brendan O’Reilly.
“That’s why we’re excited to be working with the teams at the Smart Mobility Living Lab, who are driving forward our understanding how this next generation technology will fundamentally change the fabric of the cities in which we live and work as well as creating entirely new methods of travel.”
For his part, DG Cities MD, Trevor Dorling added: “Connected and autonomous vehicles are an emerging technology with the potential to address some of the key challenges cities face. The ‘connected’, in connected and autonomous vehicles is critically important as it enables advanced safety features such as vulnerable road user alerts or dangerous intersection warnings to work, making city streets safer.
“5G underpins these use cases and offers further benefits to people and businesses. This latest collaboration with O2 and SMLL will enable us to better understand the potential applications of this new technology.”
