C-ITS delegated act: five facts
- Automotive suppliers support both ITS-G5 and 5G
CLEPA represents over 3,000 companies supplying state-of-the-art components and innovative technology for safe, smart and sustainable mobility, investing over 20 billion euros yearly in research and development. Both standards, ITS-G5 and 5G, and the corresponding technology will make mobility safer, more efficient and will pave the way to autonomous driving. Automotive suppliers deliver solutions for both standards and believe in their respective places in the C-ITS ecosystem.
- Future mobility needs both standards: ITS-G5 and 5G are largely complementary
ITS-G5 and 5G are often presented as competing or mutually exclusive; this is a misconception. The two technologies are complementary. ITS-G5 is a short-range system, ideal for car-to-car communication and car-to-infrastructure communication. It is available now and well suited, for example, to safety applications that can prevent an imminent collision between two vehicles. 5G, on the other hand, adds long-range capabilities and ability to handle larger data volumes, which are necessary for applications such as traffic management, in-vehicle access to remote services, or automated driving. Both standards have their role to play in C-ITS.
- Safety first: Open the door now for reliable and mature safety technology
The C-ITS delegated act is the result of a long process that involved all stakeholders and invested in test projects. It allows for the immediate deployment of applications and systems based on the internationally recognised ITS-G5 standard, with technology which is mature and tested in large fleets and infrastructure projects. Many of its applications are related to safety; enabling these will save lives. Rejecting the delegated act will lead to a delay of two to three years at minimum: the opportunity to create certainty in the market would pass, existing investments by both Member States and industry would be harmed.
- Open for innovation: The delegated act will be upgraded with emerging standards once ready
The delegated act was drafted to take into account the development of other technologies. If the delegated act is adopted now, it will not prevent 5G from being integrated as soon as it is ready for deployment: Article 33 sets out a pragmatic and swift process to seamlessly integrate new standards. The delegated act does not “lock” Europe into ITS-G5.
- Technology neutral: C-ITS does not prescribe any standard or technology
The “hybrid communication” approach chosen by the Commission does not prescribe any technology or standard. It is neutral in the sense that it allows the industry to move forward with the technologies that have reached maturity, while describing a migration path to introduce new technologies and further applications as soon as they become commercially available. Furthermore, the text includes interoperability requirements to ensure that technologies remain compatible with C-ITS stations.