Audi will make Verizon-powered in-car 5G available for 2024

Audi has joined forces with Verizon to make an in-car 5G connection available in time for the 2024 model year. The technology is expected to unlock additional mobile services (including personalized content) and new driver-assistance features, among other functions.

Compatible cars will gain the ability to connect to Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband network, which the provider calls its highest-performing 5G connection. Bringing quicker internet speeds into the car will make it easier for passengers to download or stream content on-the-go, allow cars to receive quicker over-the-air updates, and bring HD- and 3D-mapping functions plus cloud-based user profiles to the infotainment and navigation systems, according to Audi. In short, 5G promises to make the features that many motorists already use a lot more convenient.

On a secondary but equally important level, 5G will make it easier for cars to talk to each other and to the infrastructure. Verizon and Audi are busily developing cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology so that cars can receive messages and respond if needed. Some of the firm's models are already available with a feature called Traffic Light Information that tells the driver when a light will turn green; C-V2X will build on these foundations, though precisely what cars equipped with the technology will send and receive hasn't been revealed yet.