5GAA Brings Live C-V2X Demos to New Delhi as India Weighs 5.9GHz Decision

India’s plan to make vehicle-to-vehicle communication mandatory by October 2028 has pulled the connected-car lobby into an active campaign in New Delhi — and the fight is as much about spectrum as it is about safety rules. The 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) has staged live connected-vehicle demonstrations in the capital, pairing those demos with a submission to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India urging regulators to set aside the 5.9GHz band for cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X).

The association’s members, a list that includes Bosch, Harman, Nokia, Qualcomm, Tata Motors and Valeo, used the demonstrations to show vehicles exchanging live data on road hazards, traffic conditions and vulnerable road users. It’s a practical pitch rather than an abstract one: the technology already works, and the group wants the rules to catch up.

Why the two-wheeler angle changes everything

What makes India’s draft so consequential is its breadth. A proposal from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways would fold V2V requirements into type approval for mopeds and motorcycles — not just cars, vans and trucks. That pushes the mandate far beyond the passenger-car focus seen in most connected-vehicle programmes.

For suppliers, a fixed national deadline is a rare gift. It turns an uncertain market into something companies can actually plan products and production lines around.

What 5GAA is asking for

The association’s submission to the regulator lays out a fairly specific wish list:

• Licence-exempt deployment for C-V2X, lowering the barrier for automakers and equipment makers
• Globally harmonised standards, so Indian vehicles stay interoperable with systems elsewhere
• Interoperable systems across brands and vehicle categories
• Phased-in rules tied to completion of the AIS-230 standard, where 5GAA flags unresolved questions on certification, testing, security and priority use cases

The headline ask: reserve the 5.9GHz band for C-V2X, and don’t rush the framework before AIS-230 is settled.

Spectrum is the sticking point

The 5.9GHz frequency has become a global battleground, with telecom operators and transport authorities often pulling in different directions over how the airwaves should be allocated. 5GAA’s position is that harmonised spectrum is what makes cross-border interoperability possible at all — and without it, a mandate risks producing vehicles that talk only to themselves.

Christoph Voigt, Chairman of 5GAA, framed India as a market on the rise. “India is emerging as one of the most exciting markets for connected mobility,” he said, adding that the demonstrations showed how members are delivering practical solutions for safer and smarter mobility in the country.

Plenty still has to fall into place: certification processes, testing regimes and security frameworks are all open questions. But the deadline gives everyone a clock to work against. What remains unclear is whether Indian regulators will settle the spectrum question before the mandate arrives — or after.