Orange is working on connected and/or autonomous vehicles, which will notably utilize 5G. At the 2026 Research Fair, we were able to discuss safety and privacy issues related to these vehicles with the operators’ teams. These issues have sparked considerable debate. Orange‘s research fair is an opportunity for the operator to present its work and its direction for the coming years. The 2026 edition, which took place last week, focused on connected objects, digital assistants, and.
5G was also obviously on the agenda, and Orange has once again confirmed its target date of 2026 for the launch of its commercial network. However, one of the company’s executives believes the first mobile devices will be available slightly earlier, probably around mid-2026While there, we also had the opportunity to speak with some of the teams working on technologies related to autonomous vehicles. They are notably working on information exchange between cars and with the infrastructure, using V2X ( Vehicle-to-everything ). These technologies inevitably raise questions about respect for privacy, to which Orange is trying to provide some answers.
The usefulness of 5G for the connected and/or autonomous car of the future
The company first explains that it is part of 5GCAR (5th Generation Communication Automotive Research and Innovation), a working group bringing together several players (Ericsson, PSA, Volvo, etc.). Phase 2 of this project officially began on June 1st of this year (it is scheduled to last two years), with a budget of €154 million offered by the 5GPPP (5G Infrastructure Public-Private Partnership). Together, the various stakeholders are working on technical solutions for the cars of the future. They provide documentation, but not standardization. 5GCAR is an ” influencer ,” not a standardization body, explain the researchers from Orange . Like others before it, the group explains how 5G, virtualization, and “slicing” (the ability to divide the network into several slices, with different functionalities and services) are used. To be as efficient as possible, autonomous vehicles will need a low-latency connection, especially when responding to emergencies. The company has therefore set up a closed test circuit, with vehicles moving from cell to cell as they travel, to simulate real-world use. When transferring information from a car to the Orange network, nd then back to another vehicle (V2N2V), the operator reports a latency of only 17 ms. Furthermore, unlike a traditional network, this latency remains low even under increased load thanks to proprietary QoS.
Concrete examples of technologies for autonomous vehicles
Among the examples highlighted in the “Towards 5G” program (they had already been presented at MWC Barcelona ), was the broadcasting of video from a bulky vehicle to give directions to those behind it: they can thus know if they have the time and the possibility to overtake or not. While the current demonstration involves transmitting video, eventually the cars will exchange messages – with caution regarding the limits – or even simply “objects” in the case of autonomous vehicles. Live video can indeed be unsettling for the driver/passenger, according to Orange . Other information can also be exchanged between vehicles and infrastructure (signals, traffic congestion, etc.). This is all called V2X, with many subcategories: V2I (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure), V2V (Vehicle-to-vehicle), V2P (Vehicle-to-Pedestrian), etc. The idea of an orchestrator to organize and streamline traffic, using artificial intelligence, is also being put forward, taking into account non-connected vehicles, the operator explains. ” With sensors on the roadside and in vehicles, we will be able to deduce which vehicles are connected and which are not .” The orchestrator will then adapt the traffic flow as best as possible by adjusting the parameters it can control: autonomous vehicles. Basic cars cannot be excluded from the equation initially, and ” we will need this building block ” for the future, adds Orange . Fr the moment, the operator will only offer a ” technical feasibility demonstrator ” for a specific use case: integrating a car onto the highway.
Ultimately, “it’s always the car that will make the decision.”
We then asked Orange how it had ensured that the object, video or message sent (by the infrastructure, another car, the orchestrator, etc.) was legitimate and came from a competent authority: We did not deal with the security aspect in the Towards 5G project, but in the 5GCAR project, identifying and addressing security issues is a whole part of the work package .” We now need to find the right balance between security and latency, because the former has a significant impact on the latter, the company’s researchers explain. In any case, ” autonomous vehicles will have their sensors, it will just be like an additional sensor: if suddenly they are told there is an emergency braking situation ahead, but all the other sensors in the vehicle see nothing, it will not brake suddenly. It knows very well that there is no one there. It is always the car that will make the decision based on the information it has, which is the most reliable: its sensors .”
CNIL’s demands vs. those of the Ministry of Defence
What about privacy? Orang ass es us that the dispatchers ” are not supposed to record vehicle movements, and they are not supposed to know who owns them. ” Solutions can be implemented, but it seems very difficult (if not impossible) to guarantee complete traceability. Furthermore, ” on the one hand, there’s the CNIL (French Data Protection Authority) which demands that no one be tracked, but on the other hand, there’s the Ministry of Defense which demands that everything be tracked “; a problem already encountered on the internet. In any case, the 5GCAR project focuses more on security than privacy, even though both issues will have to be addressed at some point.
Towards trusted operators for autonomous cars?
Orange also mentions the possibility of delegating personal data to ” trusted operators .” This is similar to how Bouygues Telecom, Orange, Free Mobile, and SFR currently know your smartphone or mobile phone model and your location. We’ve delegated to Orange (for example) the right to know your location, with the obvious caveat that they can’t use that data. It’s one of the possible solutions. They can know where you are, but they’re forbidden from disclosing it .” But how much weight will such a desire carry against the juggernaut of the Intelligence Law? The Orange technician added,” We need to know where people are. Beyond the legal authorities, there’s the technical aspect .” In short, the problem isn’t simple, and neither is the solution.
A stealth mode is being studied for the police; what about the others?
What if you refuse to share the location of your connected/autonomous car? ” Typically, we’ve somewhat anticipated this scenario with emergency vehicles. With the flashing lights, we can signal our presence to others. But perhaps if you’re the police, you don’t want all the criminals to know where you are. We’ve created a sort of stealth mode: when you press it, the vehicle stops transmitting its location. It is therefore conceivable that individuals may also wish to take advantage of this. However, there is no guarantee that disconnection will always be possible in the long run, due to all the safety concerns, particularly when a majority of vehicles become autonomous.
This is a real debate.
In any case, ” it’s a real debate,” and many films have already explored this futuristic future… but we are now approaching it rapidly. Countries will also need to agree on how to transmit data across borders, and therefore on autonomous vehicles. This, too, is currently a topic of discussion, Orange tells us.