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The European Union has made it possible for companies to compete with technologies for Internet-connected cars. The European Union rejected an application for a WiFi-based standard supported by Volkswagen, writes Reuters.

Germany, France and Italy, among others – all countries with powerful car industries – voted against the proposal. A total of 21 countries voted against. BMW and Qualcomm are pleased with the victory, as its supports a competitive 5G system.

European Commission

The decision to reject the proposal contrasts sharply with the European Commission. That body supported the WiFi plan in April, instead of the 5G technology. Even in the automotive and tech industries, experts do not agree on which technology is better and safer.

The European Commission wants to set standards in the market, so it opted for the WiFi proposal. The Commission’s argument is that wifi is now available – as opposed to 5G – and that this can help to keep roads safe.

European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc now states that the Commission will continue to work with Member States to address their concerns and find a good way forward.

5G

The wifi-plan – which mainly connects cars to other cars – is supported by Volkswagen, Renault, Toyota, NXP, Autotalks and Kapsch TrafficCom, among others. For the 5G plan there is support from Daimler, Ford, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Samsung and thus BMW and Qualcomm.

5G supporters argue that this technology comes with a broader set of applications, such as entertainment, traffic data and navigation.

CTO Maxime Flament of 5GAA, which supports 5G, states precisely that today’s vote sends a signal to the Commission that technology neutrality must win. Only a level playing field between existing technologies will ensure safer and more efficient mobility on European roads”.

New vote

The WiFi proposal has not yet been formally rejected. The ministers of the European Union will meet on 8 July. It is then expected that they will formally reject the proposal.

This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.