Envisioning 5G-Enabled Transport
The transport industry has entered a period of rapid advancement, and the pace of change is only increasing. The proliferation of electric vehicles, rapid advances in autonomous vehicles, the advent of the sharing economy and digital platforms, adv...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/606211613769183189/Envisioning-5G-Enabled-Transport http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35160 |
| Summary: | The transport industry has entered a
period of rapid advancement, and the pace of change is only
increasing. The proliferation of electric vehicles, rapid
advances in autonomous vehicles, the advent of the sharing
economy and digital platforms, advances in big data and
machine learning, and rapidly evolving business models, such
as eCommerce and Mobility as a Service (MaaS), are causing
profound changes throughout the sector. The development and
rollout of fifth-generation (5G) mobile broadband has the
potential to not only support, but accelerate these
revolutionary changes as today’s digital transport solutions
evolve and entirely new opportunities become viable. 5G
presents a variety of benefits over previous generations of
wireless connectivity, including greater bandwidth, lower
latency, capacity to dedicate resources for critical
functions, potential for greatly expanded numbers of
devices, and easy sharing of data. In some cases, we see
dramatic and exponential gains from previous technologies.
Each of these 5G features will have an impact in the
transport sector, contributing to transport-specific
applications. Of these, three key opportunities present
themselves: (1) revolutionary advancements in the potential
connectivity of vehicles, (2) an increase in the number and
ubiquity of connected devices, and (3) improved data
availability for transport operations and management. When
applying these new technologies to transport, changes can be
expected across the sector, with—to some extent—no corner
left untouched. While impossible to foresee all potential
applications, the study predicts three likely and
significant changes: (1) the rise of connected and
autonomous vehicles, (2) increasingly smart and efficient
logistics, and (3) improved urban transportation with the
implementation of MaaS platforms. Figure E.1 highlights some
of these key impact linkages between 5G and the transport
sector. 5G-enabled vehicles will differ from those in use
today, with business models in the transport sector expected
to differ significantly from the current paradigm. Connected
and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) will bring together a series
of changes impacting the sector, including connectivity,
electrification, autonomy, and new business models such as
MaaS. While the connectivity provided by 5G represents only
one enabling facet of this equation, it fundamentally
changes the overall potential scope and viability of the model. |
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