SoftBank : and Honda to Begin Joint Research on Connected Car Technologies that Utilize 5th Generation Mobile Communication System (5G)

Press Releases 2017

November 16, 2017
SoftBank Corp.
Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

TOKYO, Japan, November 16, 2017 - SoftBank Corp. ('SoftBank') a subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp., and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. ('Honda'), today announced that SoftBank and Honda R&D Co., Ltd. ('Honda R&D'), a wholly owned R&D subsidiary of Honda, have begun discussions toward a joint research project to strengthen connected car technologies which will offer new experiences and value by connecting mobility products, primarily cars, and various other things. The two companies will pursue this joint research with a view to the future adoption of 5th generation mobile communication system ('5G') standards.

In the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2018, SoftBank will install experiential 5G base stations at Honda R&D's Takasu Proving Ground (in Takasu-cho, Kamikawa-gun, Hokkaido, Japan), and the two companies will start full-fledged joint research under the 5G environment.

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  Internet-connectivity and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technologies

The two companies will create a 5G environment by utilizing Honda's closed test course (Takasu Proving Ground) and work to develop the following technologies;

• High-speed handover technology
  • The development of technologies and on-board antennas which will enable a stable handover of base stations for communication by a vehicle moving at high-speed.
• Recovery technologies for areas with weak/out-of-range signals
  • The development of technologies that can secure data sending/receiving performance in areas with a weak signal as well as data processing technologies.
• Technological development for various other usages

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• SoftBank BB Corp., SoftBank Telecom Corp. and Ymobile Corporation merged into SoftBank Mobile Corp. on April 1, 2015. Please see below for pre-merger press releases from SoftBank BB Corp., SoftBank Telecom Corp., and Ymobile Corporation. SoftBank Mobile Corp. changed its company name to SoftBank Corp. on July 1, 2015.