A planned update to 802.11, dubbed 802.11p, which will make cars more intelligent machines, could be a boon for both the telecom and automotive industries, according to predictions from ABI Research.
802.11p will lay the groundwork for Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC), which will have two main uses, according to Dan Benjamin, an analyst from ABI. The first will be to allow a vehicle to interact with roadside infrastructure, and the second will enable cars to talk to each other.
In interacting with roadside infrastructure, cars could receive up-to-date traffic information or be told electronically about road conditions and speed limits, enabling more efficient use of onboard navigation tools. Cars interacting with each other could warn each other of potentially hazardous driving. One car could signal another, “I’m going to stop short,” for example, said Benjamin.
802.11p includes several qualities that make it ideal for automobiles. Namely, it is designed to work on the 5.9 GHz spectrum band, which has been allocated for automotive use. The standard also will include enhanced security, peer-to-peer communications capabilities without the presence of infrastructure, and advanced hand-off capabilities, explained Benjamin.
In its earliest stages, 802.11p likely will exist alongside present telematics solutions that include stolen vehicle recovery and navigation applications and add-on Bluetooth capabilities. Moreover, 802.11p will exist alongside 802.11 a, b and g solutions, said Benjamin.
Existing 802.11 solutions for entertainment offerings like media and data delivery and Internet access, along with practical 802.11p capabilities could drive the deployment and adoption of 802.11-enabled devices, said Benjamin.
ABI predicts 802.11-enabled entertainment offerings, including applications that will allow consumers to download music and videos from their home entertainment centers to their car systems, will become more commonplace around 2007. 802.11p will build on those initial deployments, with the first trials beginning in 2007 and progressing through the end of the decade, said Benjamin.
For the telecommunications community, 802.11 can be seen as both a blessing and a curse. Foremost, because the Department of Transportation will implement the vehicle infrastructure, the telecom industry will not be required to invest greatly in building out the technology.
The telecom industry, however, will likely be looked to for backhaul for the infrastructure, which ABI believes could provide a boost for wireless broadband-especially WiMax-suppliers.
However, because the applications enabled by 802.11p could take away from cellular minutes of use that currently support telematics services, cellular service providers may consider the standard a negative. But Benjamin cautioned that because it remains undecided who would run such an 802.11 network, new opportunities could be available across the telecom sector.
“There are companies-WiMax and fixed wireless broadband players, for instance-that could potentially make a lot of money from this, and they don’t even know about it yet,” said Benjamin.
Not to be forgotten, automotive makers are likely to benefit from 802.11p, especially as in-vehicle entertainment and infotainment come to be seen as profit drivers. “It could be a gold mine,” said Benjamin.
