The connected and autonomous vehicle market is transforming the automotive industry — growing at a projected compound annual growth rate of 22.3%, nearly five times faster than the overall car market. With the global market expected to exceed $212 billion by 2027, the opportunity is immense.
This second phase of WBA’s Connected Vehicle program quantifies the scale of data that future vehicles will generate and demonstrates how Wi-Fi, integrated with Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) architectures, provides the performance, scalability, and efficiency to meet these demands. With vehicles producing up to 10 TB of data per day, Wi-Fi emerges as a critical enabler at the automotive edge.
Key Insights:
- Data explosion quantified. Sensor, control, and infotainment systems will generate massive data volumes, requiring new edge-optimized architectures.
- Edge computing integration. AECC and ETSI MEC frameworks enable low-latency, localized data processing close to the vehicle.
- Wi-Fi 6/6E and WiGig for edge access. Spectrum-rich, high-throughput Wi-Fi delivers fast, reliable connections between vehicles and local compute nodes.
- OpenRoaming™ automation. Vehicles connect securely and automatically to trusted roadside Wi-Fi networks for seamless mobility.
- Ecosystem collaboration. Integration with 5G and C-V2X ensures interoperability across access technologies and connected-vehicle platforms.
- Industry opportunity. Operators, cloud providers, and OEMs can create new business models through edge services, analytics, and roaming data platforms.
- Next-Gen Wi-Fi evolution. Wi-Fi 7 introduces deterministic latency and multi-link operation for time-critical automotive applications.
This report showcases the next-generation mobility depends on resilient, low-cost, high-bandwidth connectivity. Embedding Wi-Fi within edge computing architectures allows the automotive ecosystem to process data locally, optimize resources, and accelerate innovation for connected and autonomous vehicles.
Explore “The Connected Vehicle – Wi-Fi Opportunities & Use Cases” to see how WBA first established the foundation for secure, automatic Wi-Fi in vehicles — now extended through this phase into the data-driven, edge-enabled era of intelligent mobility.
Interested in joining coming projects?
For current WBA Members: Contact the WBA PMO at pmo@wballiance.com to register your interest in the next trial phase.
For organizations not yet part of WBA: Contact WBA Membership at membership@wballiance.com to learn how to join and participate in upcoming programs.
The Connected Vehicle whitepaper is brought to you by WBA Members:
