Which is better for Connected car services, DSRC or C-V2X(5G)
There is still a debate which is on between industry experts and even countries to decide which technology to adopt for Connected car services. DSRC, dedicated short-range communication against C-V2X, cellular vehicle to everything are the two technologies which are getting more mature in terms of the vehicle to vehicle communication. While both technologies are designed to connect cars directly to other vehicles and the infrastructure around them but the cellular tech can also harness a 5G network’s wider network and greater bandwidth and crucially it’s lower latency of about <20ms and Co2 saving of about 17%. The wifi-based standard which is often employed for connected car solutions has also lower latency of about <50ms and a CO2 saving of about 11% and some companies argue that it’s a better option because the technology is mature and ready for deployment now.
The supporters of cellular tech say that 5G has a superior range of about 2x and is more secure. China is the first country to take the decision favoring the cellular technology for its cars. With recent developments in 5G, could be handing China an early lead in the connected car ecosystem. Their focus is leading to the real-time demarcated advantage and in October 2019 China mandated the use of C-V2X and gave it a dedicated band of the spectrum while in the US and Europe, the spectrum issue is unresolved and there is a split on which technology to use for the vehicle to vehicle communication and other connected car services. A study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute says that If the US federal government mandated the technology today, it’s estimated up to 8.1 M car crashes and 44k deaths could be prevented.
While for autonomous driving 1.5Tb data per hour would be generated and that needs to go in and out of the vehicle. C-V2X has the advantage of evolving with each new generation of cellular networks starting with 5G and it would be as simple as switching the modem. Critics of the wifi standard say that the technology is outdated and not appropriate for the cars of tomorrow. So, which will prevail 5G C-V2X now backed by the group of more than 100 car manufacturers and chip makers including Qualcomm. Qualcomm says that vehicles are more and more becoming autonomous and relying upon cameras and sensors and once we start blending in Car data Api management, cameras, sensors, and 5G then we will get to see a far more transformative experience.
A Europen commission plan for the wifi-based standard was defeated in July 2019, opening the doors for the 5G standards supported by companies like Audi and BMW. In the US the earlier Trump administration put off making a decision but companies like Ford aren’t waiting for Washington, in January 2019 the carmaker announced to deploy C-V2X in its cars from 2022. For now, most decisions are left on automakers to fight it out to decide over which standard to adopt for connected car services. And platform and application enablers such as Airlinq are helping automakers to manage this data seamlessly across all networks.