The Internet of Things and 5G: Driving the Future of Connected Vehicles

By 2020, the global fleet of connected vehicles is expected to reach 250–381 million, rising to 527 million by 2025, according to research from the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GMSA).

Parallel to this growth is the deployment of autonomous cars, projected to hit 20 million units on the road by 2035. Both technologies will generate massive data streams, necessitating significant advances in network infrastructure.

A connected car seamlessly links to the digital ecosystem—providing media, navigation, safety, and more. While most current connectivity relies on smartphones, modern vehicles increasingly embed their own communication modules, as noted by James Holland, trainee solicitor at Gowling WLG.

Key use cases include media and entertainment, with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay replacing legacy systems, and streaming services such as Spotify integrating directly into vehicles. As driver‑less cars become common, on‑board media will transform cars into mobile entertainment hubs.

Beyond infotainment, the 5G Automotive Association defines Vehicle‑to‑Everything (V2X) as the next frontier, enabling cars to communicate with each other, road infrastructure, pedestrians, and the cloud.

Through V2X, vehicles can negotiate routes, coordinate traffic‑light timing, locate available parking, and upload diagnostic data to the cloud—enabling manufacturers to monitor vehicle health and insurers to refine premium models.

To support billions of devices, networks must deliver higher throughput, lower latency, and greater capacity. 5G promises up to 10 Gbps, a latency of 1 ms, and ample bandwidth—far exceeding 4G LTE's 300 Mbps.

Fully autonomous vehicles generate up to 2 GB/s of data to maintain safe operation. As early deployments will still require human oversight—e.g., rerouting during roadworks—efficient data handling is critical.

Nissan proposes remote‑driver intervention for exceptional circumstances, relying on ultra‑low latency and robust connectivity to ensure safe hand‑off and real‑time command.

The convergence of automotive and telecom technology may ignite a fresh wave of intellectual‑property disputes, as car makers enter a domain traditionally dominated by telecom firms.

The author of this blog is James Holland, trainee solicitor at Gowling WLG