Periodic Reporting for period 2 - 5G-MOBIX (5G for cooperative & connected automated MOBIlity on X-border corridors)
Reporting period: 2020-10-01 to 2022-09-30
H2020-ICT-18-2018’s 5G-MOBIX identified and investigated the most promising solutions for seamless provisioning of Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) services over neighboring 5G networks for cross-border traffic.
CAM is already being introduced in the market and is expected to penetrate steadily. The progression to higher automation and penetration rate levels promises safety, efficiency, sustainability, and economic improvements.
However, the inherent nature of mobility is international, especially for long-haul logistics services. Consequently, any CAM service must cover international roaming, creating multiple challenges when a Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) crosses a border. Especially given the frequent service gaps with the pre-5G-MOBIX state of technology.
The potential societal, financial, and environmental benefits delivered via the ubiquitous support of CAM are expected to be significant and can only be achieved if cross-border connectivity is seamless.
5G-MOBIX set out to accelerate the deployment of 5G at cross-border areas by carrying out trials in x-border corridors complemented by national sites to assess and qualify the capabilities of 5G infrastructure, investigating the benefits, spectrum gaps, and contributing to standardization and CEF2. Furthermore, 5G-MOBIX set out to define deployment scenarios and recommendations for deploying 5G in a cross-border context, through cost/benefit and impact assessments, identification of business opportunities, and investigation of legal, regulatory, and security issues.
5G-MOBIX concluded that 5G provides a capable solution, delivering a minimum service disruption of 0.2s a maximum throughput of 900/130 Mbps (UL/DL), and a minimum roundtrip delay of 10ms.The best balance between latency and overall service disruption, for most of the CAM services, has been found using the S1 handover with S10 interface along with Home Routing in NSA Option 3x. For very low latency services direct interconnection links can provide relief. SSC mode 2 has proven to render Local Break-Out impractical, SSC mode 3 would allow for the optimal balance, but was not available. Multi-modem/SIM solutions may help with performance if link aggregation is supported. Notable is the impact of application-level protocols designs, these should incorporate session re-establishment. Finally, Slicing can guarantee QoS if the terminal device implementations have improved their stability.
The project also concluded these results can be obtained today, by using commercially available 5G equipment, and applying that in two x-border corridors and six national sites. The trials and evaluation have proven that 5G likely positively affects x-border CAM and users are willing to use the services. The project provided cost/benefit analysis, business opportunities, and recommendations to assist other corridors to work towards deployment of cross-border 5G for CAM. The major discriminator for total costs has been found to be topography; for total benefit this was traffic volume.
The results can be improved with evolving technology. The recommendations from the project have been disseminated through the research and standardization communities to ensure future deployments will deliver the required 5G for CAM performance in all situations.
CAM is already being introduced in the market and is expected to penetrate steadily. The progression to higher automation and penetration rate levels promises safety, efficiency, sustainability, and economic improvements.
However, the inherent nature of mobility is international, especially for long-haul logistics services. Consequently, any CAM service must cover international roaming, creating multiple challenges when a Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) crosses a border. Especially given the frequent service gaps with the pre-5G-MOBIX state of technology.
The potential societal, financial, and environmental benefits delivered via the ubiquitous support of CAM are expected to be significant and can only be achieved if cross-border connectivity is seamless.
5G-MOBIX set out to accelerate the deployment of 5G at cross-border areas by carrying out trials in x-border corridors complemented by national sites to assess and qualify the capabilities of 5G infrastructure, investigating the benefits, spectrum gaps, and contributing to standardization and CEF2. Furthermore, 5G-MOBIX set out to define deployment scenarios and recommendations for deploying 5G in a cross-border context, through cost/benefit and impact assessments, identification of business opportunities, and investigation of legal, regulatory, and security issues.
5G-MOBIX concluded that 5G provides a capable solution, delivering a minimum service disruption of 0.2s a maximum throughput of 900/130 Mbps (UL/DL), and a minimum roundtrip delay of 10ms.The best balance between latency and overall service disruption, for most of the CAM services, has been found using the S1 handover with S10 interface along with Home Routing in NSA Option 3x. For very low latency services direct interconnection links can provide relief. SSC mode 2 has proven to render Local Break-Out impractical, SSC mode 3 would allow for the optimal balance, but was not available. Multi-modem/SIM solutions may help with performance if link aggregation is supported. Notable is the impact of application-level protocols designs, these should incorporate session re-establishment. Finally, Slicing can guarantee QoS if the terminal device implementations have improved their stability.
The project also concluded these results can be obtained today, by using commercially available 5G equipment, and applying that in two x-border corridors and six national sites. The trials and evaluation have proven that 5G likely positively affects x-border CAM and users are willing to use the services. The project provided cost/benefit analysis, business opportunities, and recommendations to assist other corridors to work towards deployment of cross-border 5G for CAM. The major discriminator for total costs has been found to be topography; for total benefit this was traffic volume.
The results can be improved with evolving technology. The recommendations from the project have been disseminated through the research and standardization communities to ensure future deployments will deliver the required 5G for CAM performance in all situations.
5G-MOBIX started with the specification and deployment of use cases, architecture & technologies, infrastructure, vehicles, data, and evaluation. In total, there were 24 use cases in 5 categories, 9 types of 5G technology for SA and NSA, including 5G-V2X and PC5 sidelink and slicing, 29 gNBs, 24 MEC/Edge nodes, 22 RSUs, and 32 OBUs in 21 up to L5 vehicles deployed across the sites providing 21 solutions to 11 identified cross-border issues. In total 14 commercial and 2 research networks have been used. An elaborate framework linking 11 cross-border issues with 21 assessed considered solutions both home routed and local breakout, alongside specific and agnostic KPIs, is available.
The deployed technologies have been trialled in cross-border corridors ES-PT and GR-TR and in national sites DE, FI, FR, NL, CN, and KR. Around 100 trial sessions have been executed for 170 different test cases. Furthermore, the cross-site deployment of six solutions from all EU national sites towards the cross-border corridors has provided additional proof and learnings of the solutions that otherwise would not be achieved in the corridors alone.
Solutions for the main technical challenges of Radio Handover Interruption, Data Routing, Inter-PLMN interconnection, Service & Session Continuity, and Network Slicing have been found during evaluation in S1 handover with S10 interface preferably combined with Direct inter-PLMN interconnections and Edge computing, Multi-modem/SIM combined with Link Aggregation, adapting data rates, and Slicing.
Alongside the trials and evaluation, barriers & enablers, business models, user acceptance, and impact have been assessed. These have highlighted the significance of standardisation of interfaces, data formats, spectrum assignment, and 5G-CAM applications and the significance of clarity in the financial model with return on needed investments, supported by customer preferences and penetration rates. All stakeholders identified the need for collaboration with public authorities.
The results have been disseminated in 104 events, 9 workshops, and 14 webinars, using 128 presentations, in 35 papers in scientific journals, and in 57 other publications. The project resulted in 90 Key Exploitable Results available at the partners.
The deployed technologies have been trialled in cross-border corridors ES-PT and GR-TR and in national sites DE, FI, FR, NL, CN, and KR. Around 100 trial sessions have been executed for 170 different test cases. Furthermore, the cross-site deployment of six solutions from all EU national sites towards the cross-border corridors has provided additional proof and learnings of the solutions that otherwise would not be achieved in the corridors alone.
Solutions for the main technical challenges of Radio Handover Interruption, Data Routing, Inter-PLMN interconnection, Service & Session Continuity, and Network Slicing have been found during evaluation in S1 handover with S10 interface preferably combined with Direct inter-PLMN interconnections and Edge computing, Multi-modem/SIM combined with Link Aggregation, adapting data rates, and Slicing.
Alongside the trials and evaluation, barriers & enablers, business models, user acceptance, and impact have been assessed. These have highlighted the significance of standardisation of interfaces, data formats, spectrum assignment, and 5G-CAM applications and the significance of clarity in the financial model with return on needed investments, supported by customer preferences and penetration rates. All stakeholders identified the need for collaboration with public authorities.
The results have been disseminated in 104 events, 9 workshops, and 14 webinars, using 128 presentations, in 35 papers in scientific journals, and in 57 other publications. The project resulted in 90 Key Exploitable Results available at the partners.
5G-MOBIX has significantly contributed to successfully provisioning x-border CAM services using 5G.
Next to the telecommunication aspects of the problem, application, security, regulatory, administrative, and business-oriented challenges have been assessed while offering an initial analysis of the most promising potential solutions for each.
The architecture & design specifications investigate how best to design the 5G network and CAM applications to ensure service continuity with a desired x-border QoS.
These results contain an in-depth analysis of 11 x-border issues and 21 potential solutions using 9 different 5G technologies, covering 97 distinct assessed combinations.
5G-MOBIX delivered the following significant results with their respective impact:
• Detailed results and KPI measurements of 24 CAM services using 5G in 2 x-border and 6 national sites.
• Deployment of beyond state-of-the-art 20 5G (NSA+SA) networks.
• High-profile trials with associated exposure and communication. Webinars and virtual demonstrations have complemented 16 sessions with 38 use-case demonstrations. We have reached 3 national news prime-time broadcasts.
• Analysis of the most critical challenges and the most successful measures based on performance under actual conditions. This provides critical insights for numerous border crossings with 110 technical, 17 policy, and 19 regulatory recommendations.
• The Deployment Study considers the views of the most prominent 5G and CAM stakeholders, providing insights into roadmaps for 5G-enabled x-border CAM services. Expected traffic for the following years, investigations into the needed bandwidth, and inventory of the current deployments led to the required investments for corridors in ES-PT, GR-TR, FR-ES, NL-DE, and FI-NO.
Next to the telecommunication aspects of the problem, application, security, regulatory, administrative, and business-oriented challenges have been assessed while offering an initial analysis of the most promising potential solutions for each.
The architecture & design specifications investigate how best to design the 5G network and CAM applications to ensure service continuity with a desired x-border QoS.
These results contain an in-depth analysis of 11 x-border issues and 21 potential solutions using 9 different 5G technologies, covering 97 distinct assessed combinations.
5G-MOBIX delivered the following significant results with their respective impact:
• Detailed results and KPI measurements of 24 CAM services using 5G in 2 x-border and 6 national sites.
• Deployment of beyond state-of-the-art 20 5G (NSA+SA) networks.
• High-profile trials with associated exposure and communication. Webinars and virtual demonstrations have complemented 16 sessions with 38 use-case demonstrations. We have reached 3 national news prime-time broadcasts.
• Analysis of the most critical challenges and the most successful measures based on performance under actual conditions. This provides critical insights for numerous border crossings with 110 technical, 17 policy, and 19 regulatory recommendations.
• The Deployment Study considers the views of the most prominent 5G and CAM stakeholders, providing insights into roadmaps for 5G-enabled x-border CAM services. Expected traffic for the following years, investigations into the needed bandwidth, and inventory of the current deployments led to the required investments for corridors in ES-PT, GR-TR, FR-ES, NL-DE, and FI-NO.