Viasat demos ‘direct-to-car’ from satellite
May 19, 2025
By Chris Forrester
Viasat has tested sending signals from one of its satellites direct to BMW cars amongst other members of the 5G Automotive Association in Paris.
The tests were designed to showcase emergency messaging and hazard warnings. The tests took place in Paris 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.
The transmissions were designed to complement modern terrestrial 4G and 5G mobile network connectivity solutions, which some vehicles can already access. In the future, car drivers may not even realise that satellite connectivity is being established instead of using a terrestrial network. According to 5GAA 2030 Roadmap, the initial market deployment of satellite connectivity in vehicles is expected by 2027.
The 5GAA members include vehicle manufacturers BMW Group and Stellantis and technology partners Anritsu, Cubic³, Deutsche Telekom, HARMAN, Jember, LG Electronics, Qualcomm Technologies, Rohde & Schwarz, Rolling Wireless, Skylo, VEDECOM Institute and Viasat demonstrated the NTN satellite connectivity.
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