Click image to view it in full size

This research study aims to provide an overview of 5G solutions, key use cases, and applications adopted in the automotive industry. The study focuses on the strategies adopted by original equipment manufacturers, the business models used by them, and key vendors analysis. 5G technology will be critical for the automotive industry particularly when higher levels of autonomous vehicles penetrate the roads. The current 4G network is simply not fast enough to give autonomous vehicles human-like reflexes and cooperative driving capabilities in the future. Driverless cars are just one of the many incredible technologies that are likely to be ushered in with 5G. 5G will also present exciting possibilities for Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) connectivity. Furthermore, the technology’s low latency will make future autonomous vehicles extraordinarily safe and reliable on roads. This study will explore the different use cases that will require high-speed, low-latency 5G connectivity in the auto industry in the future and market potential for 5G in the industry.

Initially, 5G will be used for HD media streaming and advanced connected services capabilities in vehicles. The automotive industry will pilot edge computing, V2V coordinated driving, automated lane change, automated lane merge, automated overtaking, and teleoperated driving use cases using 5G from 2022. 5G today is very nascent and is being deployed on Non-Standalone (NSA) cellular towers for immediate implementation across industries. The current 5G download and upload speeds through NSA are not sufficient to perform ultra-reliable and low-latency use cases in autonomous vehicles. 5G NR infrastructure will be able to provide the promised 5G data speeds and latency. However, 5G NR will depend on 3GPP's Release 16 and 17 guidelines, and MNOs are currently mitigating legal, operational, and environmental issues and challenges to construct NR base stations. It will take another 4-to-5 years to see global placements of 5G NR cell-towers and base stations. Consortiums’ (e.g., 5GAA) push for 5G for V2X services is the biggest 5G influencer for the automotive industry. 5G safety-based V2X use cases will largely depend on future regulations, intense R&D testing, and infrastructure availability and are expected to see commercialization in the industry after 2025.