EU Lawmakers Reject Wi-Fi for Autos

VHS vs. Betamax. Blu-ray vs. HD DVD. Qi wireless power vs. PMA. And now, apparently, a Wi-Fi auto standard is battling a 5G alternative. And 5G struck the first blow, as EU lawmakers rejected a European Commission push for the Wi-Fi model.

5G has dominated the news cycle of late, as China’s Huawei tries to assert its influence, and various nations – including the U.S., Japan, Australia, and New Zealand – refuse to work with the telecom giant. Meanwhile, several holdouts – including Germany and Hungary – are backing Huawei or at least refusing to blacklist them.

But there’s another communications tussle with momentous stakes, as a 5G auto standard battles Wi-Fi for supremacy. And like every previous format war, the battle lines are drawn -- Daimler, Ford, and the PSA Group back the 5G standard C-V2X, while Volkswagen and Renault threw their weight behind the Wi-Fi-based ITS-G5.

The European Commission’s Wi-Fi proposal will be put to the vote on April 17.