Ibadan, 22 November 2023. – UNIO has announced the successful test of its ‘Powered by UNIO’ bridge product for connected vehicles as the Munich-based company achieved a seamless switch from 5G to satellite connectivity. During a live demonstration in Munich on November 20, a vehicle demonstrated a seamless transition between a connected 5G data rate and an equivalent data rate satellite connection. This demonstration featured a ‘bridge’ installation, and the transition occurred without any interruption to the data connection.
The success of this first test demonstrated the integration of a terrestrial (4G, 5G) network from O2 Telefónica to a non-terrestrial (satellite) network (TN-NTN). This has consequently validated the seamless switching necessary for connected vehicles when moving from a well-covered 5G region to a thinly covered 4G/5G rural region, with the satellite connection assuming the priority link and achieving ‘always on’ connectivity using the bridge.
Commenting on the successful test, UNIO’s CEO, Katrin Bacic, said, “This is a huge milestone in the development of the connected vehicle. To be able to show a constant and stable connection – and data rate – remedies one of the core issues facing the industry – the challenge of delivering consistent coverage between city and countryside.” The CEO also added, “I am grateful for the tremendous support of our entire UNIO team, whose innovation and technological know-how helped produce such exciting results.”
In addition to the recent live test in Munich, UNIO will also have further showcases and testing in November and December, which will look to validate the integration of AI-at-the-Edge, 5G-overRF, WiFi, and evolved architectures, ensuring seamless and efficient operations. Furthermore, the testing will also include integrating evolved position, timing, and navigation (PNT) optimization services through AI/DNN enhancements.
