China Mobile develops roadside units for LTE-V2X PC5 direct communication featuring Qualcomm C-V2X chipset solution

Companies Extend Long-Term Strategic Relationship to include the Automobile and Transportation Segment, with Combined Efforts to Accelerate the Commercial Readiness of C-V2X in China

Sep 14, 2018 | WUXI, CHINA

China Mobile Research Institute, China Mobile IoT (CMIoT) Company Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Mobile, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, today announced new roadside units (RSUs) for 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 14 LTE-V2X direct communication (PC5) based on the Qualcomm® 9150 C-V2X chipset solution. Developed by CMIoT and China Mobile Research Institute, the new RSUs will be showcased at the China Mobile booth during the WIoT 2018 expo from September 15-18. The cooperation between China Mobile Research Institute, CMIoT and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. marks the extension of the three companies’ long-term, strategic relationship to the automobile and transportation sector, in which companies are working together to explore new technologies and applications for intelligent vehicles, while driving the development and maturity of the connected vehicle industry in China.

Also referred to as C-V2X PC5 direct communication, LTE-V2X is a core technology of the Intelligent Transport System (ITS), which has received strong support from national policies in China. With its strong evolutionary path towards 5G New Radio (5G NR), LTE-V2X is a global solution for V2X communications designed to support improved automotive safety, automated driving and traffic efficiency, and is currently the only V2X communication technology compliant with the global 3GPP specifications. The PC5-based direct communication mode of LTE-V2X offers vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communications on the unified 5.9 GHz ITS bands without the need for a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), cellular subscription or network assistance. Utilizing LTE-V2X in vehicles and in RSUs, vehicles on the road will have the capability to directly communicate with RSUs, allowing drivers to obtain information from RSUs in a variety of use cases such as traffic signal phase timing, quickly and efficiently. C-V2X continues to gain worldwide support from the telecommunication standards associations and the automotive ecosystem, which includes the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA), to which both China Mobile and Qualcomm are board members. The association has shown through various live demonstration C-V2X’s readiness for the commercial deployment as early as 2019.

“With the prosperity of ITS, connected vehicles demand communication with lower latency, higher reliability and wider bandwidth. To address the challenge, China Mobile Research Institute spares no effort to accelerate the maturity of LTE-V2X technology, continuing to work with ecosystem partners set standards and to allocate spectrum for large-scale technical trials,” said Chenguang Wei, Deputy General Manager of China Mobile Research Institute. “We are pleased to see the RSUs that were developed with CMIoT deployed as a part of a pilot project in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, and are looking forward in to continuing to work with CMIoT and Qualcomm Technologies to help drive the maturity of the technology in the industry and in China.”

“Building on China Mobile’s public Internet of Things cellular network services, China Mobile IoT Company has been committed to building comprehensive ‘Cloud-Pipeline-Device’ V2X solutions by leveraging its technology, industry and market advantages,” said Hui Qiao, General Manager of China Mobile IoT Company Limited. “With the continued growth of 4G and 5G exploration, China Mobile IoT Company believes Internet of Connected Vehicles is expected to become an important part of the realization of our vision of the Internet of Everything. We are pleased to work with China Mobile Research Institute and Qualcomm Technologies to deliver roadside units and to show the maturity of PC5 direct communication to drive the great traction of C-V2X technology in China, which is of great significance to boost the entire industry of connected vehicles and to explore new business models.”

“We are pleased to have the Qualcomm 9150 C-V2X chipset solution integrated in CMIoT’s new RSUs. Working with telecommunication leaders like CMIoT and China Mobile Research serves as another testament to Qualcomm Technologies’ increasingly expansive relationship with the region’s ecosystem to help accelerate LTE-V2X commercial roll-outs in China,” said Nakul Duggal, vice president of product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Our breakthrough technologies and high-performing automobile solutions like C-V2X continue to transform the landscape of connected vehicles. We look forward to continuing to work closely with China Mobile Research Institute, China Mobile IoT Company and other leading companies, as well as further strengthening the close collaborations we hold with the China automotive and telecommunication industries, to pave the way for Chinese automakers and to jointly build an ecosystem of safer, more connected automobile.”