Samsung Electronics Co. has become a board member of 5G Automotive Association (5GAA), a global cross-industry association of companies from the telecommunications and automotive industries, a move to speed up development of connected car technology.

The 5GAA established in September last year has more than 40 international companies that include automakers and telecom service providers as its members to work together on developing and commercializing future vehicles based on the next generation 5G mobile networks. Samsung Electronics is the first among the Korean members to become a member of the board of directors.

The current members of the 5GAA board of directors include global automakers Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, and SAIC Motor as well as wireless network service providers and telecom equipment makers like Qualcomm, Intel, Huawei, Ericsson, Vodafone, and China Mobile.

The 5GAA members that are newly elected to a board membership position include Jaguar Land Rover, AT&T, and NTT Docomo on top of Samsung Electronics.

The 5GAA has been growing to become the world’s key organization to link telecommunications and automotive industries. As a part of such efforts, it established a partnership with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), an international body for mobile communications industry collaboration. The 5G network not only has enhanced user experience on mobile devices but also has played a great role in connecting different industries. The connected car is a great example of the internet of things (IoT) development based on the 5G network.

Samsung Electronics plans it will take a full-fledged action to create a synergy with U.S. automotive electronics company Harman International Industries that it acquired in March upon becoming a board member of the 5GAA, said a Samsung Electronics official.

By Lee Dong-in

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