Mobile Services
Cellular connected cars ready to help improve road safety in Europe
NEW DELHI: Vodafone, Jaguar Land Rover and Huawei have undertaken a live demonstration of a full Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) connected car system with the potential to significantly improve road safety standards in the near future.
While there was a 40% drop in road fatalities in Europe between 2006-2016, there were still 26,000 deaths on roads in 2016, a similar amount to 20151. Connected car technology has the potential to improve road safety by enabling drivers to gain greater awareness of vehicles, infrastructure and pedestrians in their vicinity, in what is called a cooperative intelligent transport system (C-ITS).
The three companies have demonstrated a C-V2X system compliant with standards body 3GPP’s Release 14 standard. The demonstration showed – for the first time in Europe – the capability of C-V2X to simultaneously undertake both direct short-range communications and long-range communications over a live mobile network.
Visitors to the 2018 Global MBB Forum in London last week – hosted by Huawei and industry partners GSMA and GTI – saw Jaguar F-PACE and Land Rover Discovery vehicles fitted with C-V2X units containing a single Huawei chipset, able to simultaneously support both PC5 (short-range) and Uu (long-range) mobile communications.
The cars connected to each other using Vodafone UK’s mobile network for long range communications and PC5 for short-range communications. They were also able to connect to Huawei’s PC5 capable roadside unit (RSU) for speed limit alerts.
A total of four scenarios were demonstrated to show how C-V2X can enhance road safety:
an alert to avoid accidents at T-junctions (a significant cause of accidents involving motorcyclists), delivered over both Uu and PC5 links;
an alert when a car is changing lane or is about to overtake from a blind spot;
an alert when a vehicle ahead is emergency braking or is broken down; and
an alert when road speed limit changes.
Luke Ibbetson, Vodafone Group’s Head of Research and Development, said: “We started developing C-V2X back in 2015 with the belief that the ubiquity of mobile networks will play an important role in connecting vehicles, road users and infrastructure in order to create a step-change in road safety and connected mobility. This live demonstration shows that the technology has reached a mature stage and is ready for deployment. That is very good news for all road users.”
Colin Lee, V2X Group Manager, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Increasing the line of sight of a vehicle by enabling it to talk to other vehicles, pedestrians and the surrounding environment means we can drastically help to improve road safety for all road users. The sooner we can bring connected vehicles to our customers, the sooner we can make safer, congestion free roads a reality. It’s fantastic to collaborate with Vodafone and Huawei, allowing us to share our expertise and drive Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything development forward.”
William Lu, General Manager of Huawei’s C-V2X product line, said:” We have been working together with industry partners to develop and promote C-V2X over the past few years. This demonstration with Vodafone and Jaguar Land Rover shows that combined use of PC5 & Uu interfaces can provide more effective ways to enhance road safety and efficiency.”
NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, India’s telecommunications services provider, today announced the launch of its ultra-fast 5G services in 125 cities. Airtel 5G Plus service is now available to customers in over 265 cities in the country.
Airtel 5G Plus has three compelling advantages for customers. First, it runs on a technology that has the widest acceptance in the world with the most developed ecosystem. This ensures that all 5G smartphones in India seamlessly work on the Airtel network. Second, the company promises to deliver the best experience – between 20 to 30 times higher speeds than today coupled with brilliant voice experience and super-fast call connect. Finally, Airtel 5G Plus network will also be kinder to the environment with its special power reduction solution. Powered by the reliable Airtel network infrastructure, Airtel 5G Plus will provide superfast access to High-Definition video streaming, gaming, multiple chatting, instant uploading of photos et all.
Commenting on the launch, Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel said, “5G has revolutionized the world of internet, ushering new era of connectivity and communications that will prove to be a game-changer for the country. At Airtel, we remain committed to delivering the highest quality of network and service to our customers as we roll-out 125 more cities today. Airtel was the first in the country to offer 5G services in October 2022, and today’s mega launch is our promise to connect every Airtel customer in the country with ultra-fast Airtel 5G Plus. Our 5G rollout is on track to cover all towns and key rural areas by March 2024.”
Airtel 5G Plus service availability will continue to rapidly expand – including service in all towns and villages in the country soon – as the company is working towards offering nationwide coverage. Airtel is now offering its 5G services in every major city from the upper northern city of Jammu to the southern tip of Kanyakumari.
In the last one year, Airtel has demonstrated the power of 5G with a host of powerful use cases that will change the way customers lead their lives and do business. From India’s first live 5G network in Hyderabad to India’s first private 5G network at the BOSCH facility in Bengaluru to partnering with Mahindra & Mahindra to make its Chakan manufacturing facility, India’s first 5G enabled auto manufacturing unit, Airtel has been at the forefront of 5G innovation.
NEW DELHI: Apple Inc has rolled out a beta programme to enable 5G on Apple devices as the upgrade lets users try out pre-release software.
This software upgrade enables 5G access on Apple devices, as and when service providers Jio, Airtel and Vodafone enable 5G network access, sources said.
Apple Users have to enrol for the Beta Programme on the website, install a profile and download the software.
Jio users using iPhone 12 and above, in cities where JioTrue5G has been rolled out, will be invited to the Jio Welcome Offer. Jio Welcome Offer provides unlimited 5G data at up to 1 Gbps speed to users at no additional cost. However, there is a condition that prepaid users must be on active Rs 239 and above plan. All Postpaid users are eligible for this trial.
Airtel is not providing any special 5G offer like Jio to their users. In the cities/areas in which the Airtel 5G network has been launched, users can trial 5G services as a part of their existing plan, once they have updated the latest Apple Beta software.
While an email sent to Apple did not solicit an immediate response, the firm had last month stated: “We are working with our carrier partners in India to bring the best 5G experience to iPhone users as soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance is completed. 5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December”.
Airtel and Jio customers on iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12 and iPhone SE (3rd generation) models can experience 5G as part of Apple’s iOS 16 Beta Software Program. The Apple Beta Software Program is open to anyone with a valid Apple ID who accepts the Apple Beta Software Program Agreement during the sign-up process.
If a user has an iCloud account, that is an Apple ID, it is recommended they use that. If they do not have an iCloud account or any other Apple ID, they can create one.
Customers who want to try the beta software should back up their iPhones before installing the beta software. It is recommended to install the beta software only on non-production devices that are not business-critical. Users can also provide feedback to Apple on quality and usability, which helps Apple identify issues, fix them, and make Apple software even better.
The iOS beta comes with the built-in Feedback Assistant app, which can be opened from the Home screen on the iPhone or iPad or from the Dock on the Mac.
Source: Press Trust of India
5g
Nokia wins multi-year deal with Reliance Jio India to build one of the largest 5G networks in the world
NEW DELHI: Nokia has announced that it has been selected as a major supplier by Reliance Jio to supply 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment from its comprehensive AirScale portfolio countrywide in a multi-year deal. Reliance Jio is India’s number one mobile operator and has one of the largest RAN footprints in the world.
Under the contract, Nokia will supply equipment from its AirScale portfolio, including base stations, high-capacity 5G Massive MIMO antennas, and Remote Radio Heads (RRH) to support different spectrum bands, and self-organizing network software. Reliance Jio plans to deploy a 5G standalone network which will interwork with its 4G network. The network will enable Reliance Jio to deliver advanced 5G services such as massive machine-to-machine communications, network slicing, and ultra-low-latency.
Akash Ambani, Chairman Reliance Jio, commented: “We are pleased to be working with Nokia for our 5G SA deployment in India. Jio is committed to continuously investing in the latest network technologies to enhance the experience of all of its customers. We are confident that our partnership with Nokia will deliver one of the most advanced 5G networks globally.”
Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO at Nokia stated: “This is a significant win for Nokia in an important market and a new customer with one of the largest RAN footprints in the world. This ambitious project will introduce millions of people across India to premium 5G services, enabled by our industry-leading AirScale portfolio. We are proud that Reliance Jio has placed its trust in our technology and we look forward to a long and productive partnership with them.”
Nokia has a long-standing presence in India. This new deal will mean that Nokia is now supplying India’s three largest mobile operators.
