The initiative is being run by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) as well as the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA), GSMA, the European Telecommunications and Network Operators association (ETNO) and the European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ECTA).

The project is focused on strengthening Europe’s leadership in connected and automated driving, by accelerating the EU-wide deployment of related key technologies.

The project will focus on use cases and test functionalities in three main areas: automated driving, road safety and traffic efficiency, and the digitalisation of transports and logistics.

Functions that are being considered include high density platooning, cooperative collision avoidance, remote control parking, local-hazard warnings and traffic flow optimisation. High definition maps will be updated with a fast connection to the internet on phone or other mobile devices.

The works, which are expected to start in 2017, will include two main phases. A first phase, to run until 2019, will feature tests on available communication technologies, such as LTE – Long-Term Evolution – (4G) technology. A second phase, to run until 2021, will be based on both 4G and 5G technologies.

The project will also focus on aspects such as safety, cyber-security and protection of personal data, quality of service and network latency during the different use cases and functionalities’ testing to ensure a safer, more efficient and ultimately richer user experience.