News

  Alps Alpine Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 6770; President & CEO: Toshihiro Kuriyama), on February 1 obtained a cellular V2X (C-V2X) experimental radio station license in the 5.9GHz band from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), a first in Japan. The license allows Alps Alpine to commence demonstration testing of a C-V2X system it is currently developing as part of wider efforts to establish safe and dependable advanced traffic information systems. The technology will make use of high-accuracy positioning data from ViewPose, a positioning system the company is jointly developing with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. (headquarters: San Diego, California, United States)¹. The testing will take place at Alps Alpine’s Iwaki Office.

  The automotive industry is fast embracing the CASE trends of connected cars, autonomous driving, sharing and services, and electrification. Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology, for connecting vehicles to everything around them and sharing information, is crucial for enabling connected cars that provide greater safety, comfort and convenience for vehicle occupants and pedestrians as they move around. While dedicated short-range communications (DSRC)² paved the way for V2X systems through application in electronic toll collection (ETC), C-V2X has recently gained prominence given its use of existing communications infrastructure already used by mobile networks and because of the wide coverage. China has led C-V2X deployment and other countries are looking to follow suit, with the United States also deciding to adopt the technology.

  C-V2X communications are typically allocated frequencies in the 5.9GHz band, as is the case in the United States and China, and radio laws are being amended accordingly. In Japan, the 5.9GHz band overlaps with frequencies used by mobile relay stations and no companies have been granted an experimental license for the spectrum until now. In May 2020, however, MIC revised its Frequency Reorganization Action Plan³, stating it would examine the technical conditions for allocation of 5.9GHz bandwidth to C-V2X communications and the sharing of frequencies with existing wireless communication systems by the end of fiscal 2021.

  On February 1 Alps Alpine became the first in Japan to obtain a C-V2X experimental radio station license from MIC for the 5.9GHz band. At its Iwaki Office, the company possesses a wide array of facilities and equipment for evaluating products for automotive use. This includes a one-kilometer test course ideal for evaluating C-V2X technology, which has wide-area communication characteristics.

  Alps Alpine is at the forefront of the industry in developing technology for the C-V2X domain, particularly in China, the world leader in C-V2X deployment. Teaming up with a Chinese C-V2X chip supplier under a mutually complementary production and development partnership agreement, Alps Alpine developed a C-V2X All In One Communication Module⁴. The company is also involved in interoperability testing in China, as well as ongoing demonstration testing within Wuxi’s designated C-V2X zone.

  With its recently acquired license, Alps Alpine will embark on demonstration testing of a C-V2X system it is developing that employs high-accuracy positioning data from ViewPose, a system under joint development with Qualcomm Technologies. The testing will take place at the Iwaki test course. The technology will be evaluated for real-world implementation and knowledge gained will be harnessed within C-V2X applications to be deployed in Europe, the United States and China, and across the globe as part of wider efforts to establish safe and dependable advanced traffic information systems.