INTELLIGENT VERTICAL: BANKING & FINANCE
closer to local partners and the mobile community in Germany and
across Europe. “We started Branch in the heart of Silicon Valley, but
we’ve known since the very beginning that app discovery is a global
problem. As a team, we’re incredibly humbled that the meteoric
rise of Branch in the past couple years has given us the opportunity
to open our first European office in what we believe to be the most
exciting tech hub outside of the US: Berlin,” said Alex Austin, CEO and
Co-Founder of Branch. “Many of the best international mobile teams
have already recognised the value of our technology and have seen
tremendous success in their mobile growth and retention efforts. We
celebrate this occasion as the day when we can bring Branch’s world-
renowned technical support and account management to Europe
and beyond. We’re excited to play an integral role in many current
and future successful businesses in the region.”
“Branch has played an important role in our mobile strategy to help
GoEuro grow and engage with our mobile audience,” said Mariya
Katernyak, Mobile Marketing Lead at GoEuro. “We’re very excited
about the team’s expansion from London to Berlin and look forward
to working even more closely with the local team!” n
COEXISTENCE OF C-V2X AND
ITS-G5 TECHNOLOGY OFFERS
BENEFITS FOR EUROPE
T
he 5G Automotive Association
(5GAA), a cross-industry association
of the telecoms and automotive
industry, held a policy debate at the end
of last year in Brussels to discuss the
concrete actions necessary to implement
5G connected and automated vehicles
in Europe. A recurring theme in the
debate was the cohesive development
and implementation of cellular ‘vehicle
to everything’ (C-V2X) technology, the
technology that will enable automobiles to
communicate via cellular networks to other
connected devices, but also the possibility
of ad-hoc communication without any
cellular network involvement (e.g. in case
of weak coverage).
Policymakers and industry face the ongoing
challenge of creating a cohesive framework
that enables private sector innovation while
ensuring a safe and economically viable
rollout of new technologies.
Attendees heard from a wide range
of various European political and
administrative representatives, including
Eddy Hartog; EC Head of Unit Smart
Mobility and Living, Attila Benedek;
Adviser to István Ujhelyi MEP, Rapporteur
on European C-ITS Strategy, Jaime
Moreno; García-Cano of the Spanish
Traffic Authority and Andreas Geiss,
EC Head of Unit for Spectrum Policy.
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INTELLIGENTCIO
5GAA was represented by its secretary,
Markus Dillinger of Huawei and board
members, Luke Ibbetson of Vodafone,
Joachim Göthel of BMW, Rainer Krumrein
of Daimler and Friedhelm Ramme of
Ericsson. The debate coincides with the
Commission’s ongoing public consultation
on its European Strategy on Cooperative
Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS).
C-V2X technology stands to significantly
improve road safety and facilitate traffic
flows in the EU. Ultimately, the benefits
of this technology across the EU could
save the several billion Euros that are
lost every year to traffic accidents and
congested roadways.
Markus Dillinger, 5GAA Secretary and
Member of the Executive Committee, said:
“5GAA was founded to underscore the
urgency in developing technology that
makes our roads safer and smarter. The
debate has brought together public and
private sector stakeholders to discuss the
capabilities of such technology as well as
the acceleration of creating a regulatory
framework in which the industry can work.”
During the event, analysts from Analysys
Mason and SBD Automotive presented
the findings of a cost-benefit analysis of
implementing C-V2X technology. The
socio-economic returns of deployment
of C-ITS systems may amount to EUR 43
billion by 2035 in Europe, if both C-V2X
and the Wi-Fi Standard IEEE 802.11p are
able to co-exist in the 5.9GHz spectrum
band. The 5GAA also presented a study
assessing the road safety benefits of
LTE-V2X (PC-5) and IEEE 802.11p in
the EU, which indicates that LTE-V2X
(PC5) outperforms 802.11p in reducing
fatalities and serious injuries. In addition,
it demonstrates that the absence of
interoperability between technologies is
unlikely to present a substantive barrier
to the reduction of road accidents in the
short to medium term. Bill McKinley, 5GAA
rapporteur on tests and trials and Rainer
Krumrein of Daimler also presented 5GAA’s
perspective on C-V2X performance and
future capabilities.
The event culminated in a panel discussion
to consider the right framework to
accelerate the deployment of the C-ITS
across Europe. Particular attention was
given to short range communications in the
5.9 GHz band and the four guiding policy
principles established by the European
Commission: uncompromised safety
services for all users in case of multiple
technologies implementation, technology
neutrality of spectrum regulation,
efficient spectrum use and introduction
in the longer-term of 5G for the further
development of cooperative, connected
and automated mobility. n
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