Audi AG Picks Verizon to Enable Customized Private 5G

Verizon Business and Audi AG announced a partnership to build a state-of-the-art private wireless network and tech-testing environment at Audi’s automotive test track in Neustadt, Germany. The dynamic, multi-core wireless network is designed to duplicate network conditions in key markets around the world, with custom-built replicas of Verizon’s U.S. public network, local European networks, and the roaming network of Audi’s MVNO partner in Asia-Pacific. Audi and other brands from the Volkswagen Group have access to the track and network.

As the automotive industry continues its evolution toward software-defined vehicles, the geographic flexibility of the Neustadt test-track network gives Audi a competitive advantage in the global market by streamlining its multi-territory R&D test cycle, better replicating driver/passenger experiences around the world, and providing access to the latest network and application technology.

Testable applications include voice, video, safety, autonomous mobility, vehicle-to-cloud communication, OEM-customer interactions, cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) features and functionalities, and more.

To achieve this blend of geographic flexibility and technological capability, Verizon Business tapped into a robust ecosystem of partners. The network uses a dual 5G and LTE Modular Private Wireless platform from Nokia, C-V2X and private MEC infrastructure utilizing AWS Outposts from Amazon Web Services, and real-time video and data-transmission technology from Smart Mobile Labs (stream management and distribution, full HD streaming, push to talk, push to video, stream recording, et. al.).

“Our needs for this test track were complex and multi-dimensional, encompassing many technologies, geographic network conditions, and industry trends. Verizon Business was able to provide a complete solution that will take time and cost out of the testing cycle and give us a competitive advantage in the global marketplace,” said Petr Kozak, Head of Development Infotainment, Connectivity, Data Management and Artificial Intelligence, Audi AG.

“This is about much more than equipping a work site with a private network. This is about bringing network conditions from around the world to one test facility, allowing Audi to exceed the already lofty demands of the mobility market looking years into the future,” said TJ Fox, SVP of IIoT and Automotive, Verizon Business. “Increasingly, vehicles are not just about transportation, but a means of communication, entertainment, education, and work -- effectively, rolling cell phones and high-powered computers. That means the vehicle of the future will be packed with technology that needs to work under many different sets of network conditions, and Audi and Verizon Business are solving for those needs with this state-of-the-art facility.”

Verizon Business has end-to-end responsibility for the delivery and support of the high-performance, stable and secure private LTE/5G network, which can be adapted to the developments of the 3GPP standard over time.