AECC maps out requirements of 5G network services to advance connected vehicles, working with GSMA

Press Release, 27 February 2025

The Automotive Edge Computing Consortium (AECC), following work with the GSMA, is calling on global mobile network operators (MNOs) to enhance existing network infrastructure capabilities, so they align with the automotive industry’s growing connectivity needs. With the rise of connected vehicles, intelligent driving, high-definition mapping, and other data-intensive mobility services, networks must evolve to support varying traffic volumes and a variety of latency requirements as specified by applications. To guide the industry in overcoming these challenges, the AECC today published a Statement of Requirements document, outlining the critical network capabilities necessary for the future of connected mobility.

The AECC worked with GSMA Fusion, part of the global mobile industry association, the GSMA, to develop these requirements. GSMA Fusion, part of the GSMA Open Gateway initiative, works with enterprises and industry groups including those in the automotive sector, to explore the technology challenges vertical sectors have and how connectivity can support them through digital transformation. This follows from the signing of a co-operation agreement between the organizations in October 2024.

“Current mobile networks were not designed to handle the real-time data processing and massive uplink traffic required by connected vehicles. The Statement of Requirements document highlights the need for scalable, interoperable, and programmable 5G services to meet increasing data demands across priority use cases such as intelligent driving, high-definition mapping and teleoperation,” said AECC President and Chair Dr. Ryokichi Onishi, a Principal Engineer and General Manager at Toyota Motor Corporation.

AECC advocates for a topology-aware, distributed cloud system with multi-operator capabilities, leveraging decentralized computing to shift resources closer to vehicles and reduce latency, hierarchically distributed clouds to optimize performance across multiple locations, and localized networks to enable faster real-time data processing for seamless vehicle-to-cloud communication.

Henry Calvert, Head of Networks at the GSMA, said: “We welcome the AECC mapping out how the mobile industry can support the automotive sector’s digital transformation through enhanced network connectivity. Despite 5G advancements, more can be done to ensure network services are fully aligned with the evolving connectivity requirements of the automotive industry. Many mobile operators have started to introduce programmable functionalities, and network APIs, through the GSMA Open Gateway initiative, but global adoption needs to accelerate to meet the automotive industry’s needs. We will now work with AECC to further define their priorities, including timescales and locations for deployment of their key use-cases. We invite additional players in the automotive market to work with GSMA Fusion to outline their future connectivity requirements.”

The Statement of Requirements document includes an overview of the AECC’s strategic blueprint that will be released after MWC 2025. The strategic blueprint is a comprehensive framework designed to address the challenges and opportunities within the rapidly evolving connected vehicle ecosystem. By adopting the AECC blueprint, industry stakeholders can streamline the development and deployment of connected vehicle technologies, ensuring enhanced user experiences while overcoming technological and operational hurdles.

MWC 2025 Thought Leadership
AECC member Dr. Muriel Desaeger, Technical Head at Toyota Motor Europe’s R&D center, will speak at the MWC 2025 Connect 5G Summit during Session 1: Exposing 5G Value with Open Gateway.

• Location: GSMA Summit Stage, Hall 6, Fira Gran Via
• Date & Time: Monday, March 3, 2025, 15:25 – 15:35 CET

GSMA Open Gateway AECC Demo at MWC 2025
The AECC demo at MWC 2025 will showcase four key automotive use cases leveraging CAMARA APIs to enhance connectivity and optimize network performance.
Featured Use Cases:

• IRIGATE – Expands IoT connectivity for automotive systems beyond 3G/4G networks.
• End-to-End High-Quality Communication – Ensures seamless, low-latency data transmission for critical automotive applications.
• Traffic Steering – Dynamically optimizes network resources to maintain high performance.
• MEC Federation – Enables interoperability across MEC environments for efficient data processing.

Location: GSMA Open Gateway – Demonstration Area

• Location: Open Gateway Zone, Hall 4, Fira Gran Via
• Dates: Monday, March 3 – Thursday, March 6, 2025

Participate in the AECC’s Proof of Concept (PoC) Program
Organizations interested in collaborating with the AECC on a PoC can initiate the process by contacting ProofofConcept@aecc.org. For a glimpse into how AECC’s ongoing PoCs successfully address data challenges, access PoC case studies and on-demand videos at https://aecc.org/proof-of-concepts/.

Collaborate with OEMs, MNOs, Cloud Providers and App Players
All companies interested in contributing to the connected vehicle services ecosystem are encouraged to become AECC members. AECC membership is open to organizations across any business vertical. To learn more about AECC membership, visit https://aecc.org/membership/.

About the AECC
The Automotive Edge Computing Consortium (AECC) is an association of cross-industry, global leaders working to explore the rapidly evolving and significant data and communications needs involved in instrumenting billions of vehicles worldwide. The AECC’s goal is to find more efficient ways to develop distributed computing and infrastructure network architectures to support the high-volume data needed for intelligent vehicle services. The AECC’s members are key players in the automotive, high-speed mobile network, edge computing, wireless technology, distributed computing and artificial intelligence markets. For more information about the AECC and its membership benefits, please visit https://aecc.org/.