In July 2018 the LMT became the first Baltic telecommunications company to join the international 5G Automotive Association (5GAA).
It was a strategic step forward for Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT) as 5G end-to-end innovations for future mobility are one of our priorities.
5GAA intends to become a place for connecting car and sensor manufacturers, as well as the public and academic sectors and leading telecommunications companies from various countries to jointly develop intelligent transport technologies. It was established by AUDI AG, BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ericsson, Huawei, Intel, Nokia, and Qualcomm Incorporated, and this association now boasts more than 90 members, including the LMT.
Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (c-ITS) allow cars and the road infrastructure to cooperate in various ways and combinations for concerted performance. For example, a street is cleared and the traffic lights turn green for an approaching ambulance. As a result, our streets become safer, faster and easier to navigate.
“90% of traffic accidents take place due to human error. Technologies can help to prevent these mistakes or mitigate their consequences. As intelligent transport systems have to be harmonized internationally, cross-border partnerships and intersectoral cooperation, as well as cooperation with the public sector are very important to ensure uniform technological standards, exchange of system data, and appropriate legal framework,” explains Juris Binde, the President of LMT with regards to membership in the 5GAA.
In the middle of July the 5GAA had the first public demonstration of connected mobility solutions in Europe, namely, vehicles that communicated among themselves and with the surrounding environment during a test drive. These solutions were offered by such automakers as BMW, Ford and the PSA group.
In the summer of 2018 the LMT organized the first Baltic Connected Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) forum in cooperation with the US technology company Qualcomm and 5GAA. Representatives from the Latvian and Finnish public sector, universities and industry participated. The participants agreed that it was necessary to establish the Baltic Digital Transport Corridor from Helsinki to Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius, potentially moving even further in the future. The corridor would allow for significant time savings during border crossings, improve traffic safety, reduce fuel consumption and curb harmful emissions. During the forum, Qualcomm confirmed that Latvia and the LMT had a considerable potential for cooperation and the development of C-ITS.
About LMT
As to the number of customers, turnover and network coverage, the LMT is the largest mobile communications operator in Latvia with the most extensive customer service network. Being an undoubted innovations leader, the LMT offers its customers a complete range of high-quality telecommunications services – voice communications, high-speed unlimited mobile Internet, as well as mobile TV LMT Straume and LMT Home Smart TV.
For more information about the intelligent transport solutions see infographics and videos on the 5GAA homepage.