5G Automotive Association

The 5G Automotive Association was created in September 2016, by Audi AG, BMW Group, Daimler AG from the side of car makers, Samsung, Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Nokia, as producers of telecommunications equipment and Harman, Qualcomm as a firmware manufacturer [1] [2]. In 2017 the 5G Automotive Association signed a letter of intent with the European Automotive Telecom Alliance (EATA) for cooperation[3][4][5][6][7] . Since its inception, 5GAA has rapidly expanded to include key players with a global footprint in the automotive, technology and telecommunications industries. This includes automotive manufacturers, tier-1 suppliers, chipset/communication system providers, mobile operators and infrastructure vendors. More than 130 companies have now joined 5GAA[8].

The 5GAA is a registered voluntary association[9]. It has a hierarchical structure. There are twelve top (platinum) members (including the founders), prime (gold) members, having the right to propose members for leading positions and general members[10][11].

The 5GAA Board supervises and advises the Executive Committee in all material respects, in particular with regard to strategic considerations[12]. The Board is composed of eighteen members, elected by the General Assembly every year, out of which:

• twelve seats are reserved to platinum members (the highest member category);
• six seats are reserved to candidates elected among the gold members.

The 5GAA Working Groups develop the frameworks, practical aspects, required standards, and business cases for 5G and the future application of connected mobility solutions. 5GAA has seven Working Groups[13] on:

• WG1 (Use Cases and Technical Requirements): define end-to-end view on use cases and derive technical requirements and performance indicators for the certification of connected mobility solutions (e.g. on communication architecture, radio protocols, radio parameters, frequency spectra and carrier aggregation combinations). Ensure interoperability for V2X and other affected technologies.
• WG2 (System Architecture and Solution Development): define, develop and recommend system architectures and interoperable end-to-end solutions to address use cases and Services of Interest. Reviewing currently available solutions in technical areas such as wireless air interface technologies, wireless network deployment models, radio access networks and networked clouds, connectivity and device management or security, privacy and authentication.
• WG3 (Evaluation, Testbeds, and Pilots): evaluate and validate end-to-end solutions through testbeds. Promote commercialisation and standardisation via pilots and large-scale trials by selecting the use cases in conjunction with go-to-market strategies. This includes multi-phase / multi-year planning with prioritisation.
• WG4 (Standards and Spectrum): act as "Industry Specification Group", providing recommendations, contributions and positions to ETSI, 3GPP and other standards development organisations. Agree on spectrum requirements for V2X in ITS, MBB and unlicensed bands. Represent the association vis-à-vis other industry organisations.
• WG5 (Business Models and Go-To-Market Strategies): agree on criteria for business models. Identify involved organisations and companies, and prioritise them. Draft exemplary go-to-market plan as straw man function for agreed use cases under test and business models. Agree on how to best achieve a global approach to certification of the target connected mobility solutions.
• WG6 (Regulatory and Public Affairs): agree on common 5GAA positions in relation to policy and regulatory matters at a national, regional and (whenever possible) global level to secure market access and support deployment road-map from a regulatory standpoint.
• WG7 (Security and Privacy): review currently available solutions in the technical areas mentioned below and identify gaps towards comprehensive secure end-to-end solutions and specifications for the use cases and services of interest as defined by the WG “Use Cases and Technical Requirements”.

5GAA has eight priority areas:

• Trust: Implement state-of-the-art security and privacy in the V2X ecosystem
• Mobile Networks: Build upon cellular network deployments to fast track new mobility services
• Flexible Service Architectures: Leverage distributed cloud and edge computing capabilities
• Precise Positioning: Analyze precise positioning technologies for all road users and study related business models
• Digital Roads: Engage with road operators to fully integrate the road infrastructure
• Interoperable Ecosystem: Satisfy business needs for interoperation between devices and services across ecosystem partners
• Vulnerable Road Users: Enable smart devices to deliver services protecting pedestrians, cyclists, etc.
• Sustained Technology Evolution: Accelerate evolution of cellular technologies towards 5G-V2X

As of February 2020, 5GAA counts 134 members: A1 Telekom, Airbus, Airgain, Alps Alpine, American Tower, Analog, Anritsu, Apple, Applied Information, Askey Computer, AT&T, Audi, Autocrypt, Autotalks, BAIC, Baidu, Baoneng Automotive, Bell Mobility, BlackBerry, BMW, Bosch, Bureau Veritas, CATT, Cetecom, China Mobile, China Telecom , China Transinfo, China Unicom, Cisco, Cohda Wireless, Commsignia, Continental, CTAG, Daimler, Danlaw, Dekra, Denso, Deutsche Messe AG, Deutsche Telekom, Dt&C, Eberle Design Inc., EdgeConneX, Equinix, Ericsson, Faraday Future, FarEasTone, Faw, FCA (CRF), FEV Group, Flex, Ford, Fraunhofer Institute, Geely Automobile, Gemalto, General Motors, Granite River Labs, HERE Technologies, Honda, Huawei, Hyundai America, Hyundai Mobis, Infineon, Intel, InterDigital, Jaguar Land Rover, KDDI, Keysight, KPIT, KT R&D, Lear, LG, Links Foundation, LMT, Marben Products, Marelli Europe S.p.A., Microsec, Mitsubishi, Molex, Murata, NavInfo, Neusoft, NIO, Nissan, Nokia, Noris, NTT Docomo, Oakland University, OKI, Orange SA, Panasonic, PFU, Pirelli, PSA, Qorvo, Qualcomm, Quectel Wireless, Renault, Rogers Communications, Rohde & Schwarz, Rohm Semiconductor, SAIC, Samsung, Savari, SGS, Shanghai Gotell, SIAC Shanghai, Sirius XM, SK Telecom, Skyworks, Softbank, Sony, Sporton International Inc., ST Engineering iDirect, Sumitomo, Svyaz-sertificat, Swift Navigation, TE Connectivity, Telecom Italia, Telefonica, Telstra, Telus, Tencent, Terranet, TNO , TüV Rheinland, Valeo, Veniam, Verizon, Viavi, Vodafone, Volkswagen, Volvo Cars, Wistron NeWeb Corp., ZF, ZTE

The 5G Automotive Association works for the standardization needed for the implementation of driverless, autonomous driving in cooperation with standards organizations such as ETSI, 3GPP and SAE[14].

5GAA primarily focusses on the deployment of cellular based communication, also known as Cellular-V2X. The association works on all aspects that may enable the market introduction of C-V2X: technology, standards, spectrum, policy, regulations, testing, security, business models and go-to-market.

5GAA acts as a central point to inform the public on V2X emerging technology[15] by demonstrating feasibility and holding conferences on the topic.[16][17]

• Vehicle-to-everything
• 5G NR frequency bands
• Network service
• Network virtualization