BMW and Viasat Demo “worlds first” Connected Vehicle Over Satellite

Satellite operator Viasat and German car manufacturer BMW claim to have demonstrated the ability for vehicles to connect over satellite (non-terrestrial networks) for emergency messaging and hazard warnings. This is designed to complement modern terrestrial 4G and 5G mobile network connectivity solutions (many cars already have something akin to the latter).

The demo, which involved other members of the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA), took place in Paris (France) and also featured the first on-the-road, live-traffic demonstration of 5G-V2X Direct technology capabilities for detection of vulnerable road users (VRU) in real-traffic conditions. The same demo also showed the readily available capabilities of Vehicle-to-Network (V2N) services.

Getting all of this right, for seamless in-vehicle integration and seamlessly switching between NTN and terrestrial networks to enable voice communication, was no mean feat and is something that many new cars will have in the future. Car drivers in the future will not even realise that satellite connectivity is established, instead of using a terrestrial network, which could help to save their lives if a crash occurs.

Anritsu, Keysight Technologies, Rohde & Schwarz, and MediaTek complemented the NTN demonstrations with parallel test equipment measurements for performance verification. For the first time on the road, 5GAA member Valeo, in collaboration with Marben, demonstrated 5G-V2X Direct, in which two vehicles shared sensor data, triggering a warning of a pedestrian crossing at an obstructed intersection.

The above demonstration illustrated how 5G-V2X Direct (based on 3GPP Release 16) will enable vulnerable road users extra protection by leveraging sensors and camera feeds from other vehicles to alert drivers, paving the way for smarter mobility. As per the 5GAA Visionary 2030 Roadmap, 5G-V2X is expected to be mass-deployed in commercial vehicle models starting from the time horizon 2026-2029.

The public road demonstrations continued with the use of V2N technology for road users’ protection. 5GAA members, including Nokia, Orange, Stellantis, Valeo, and VEDECOM Institute, showcased interoperable V2X Platforms with vehicles, mobile applications and smart intersections (equipped with cameras and connected via the 5G networks) sharing collective perception to enhance road users’ safety.

Additionally, HARMAN and u-blox showcased Emergency Electronic Brake Light (EEBL) near-real-time alerts to prevent hard braking events, in line with the upcoming 2026 Euro NCAP local hazard requirements, and made use of precise positioning to prevent false alerts.

Finally, 5GAA members Rohde & Schwarz, S.E.A, Keysight and Orange also exhibited Next Generation Emergency Call (NG eCall) verification and network performance. The event, hosted by Telecom-Paris, highlighted how 5GAA is developing new standards for safety and innovation in automotive connectivity in Europe and globally.

According to the 5GAA 2030 Roadmap, the initial market deployment of satellite connectivity in vehicles is expected by 2027 (based on IoT NTN 3GPP Release 17). All of this sounds good, although no doubt some road users will be worried about the potential for such technologies to be used by governments and insurance companies to spy more closely on their driving, which raises various issues.