(A.) Policy and legislation
(A.1) Policy objectives
The pan-European in-vehicle emergency feature, ‘eCall’, is an interoperable service to be available in all new M1 and N1 model types of vehicles in order to reduce the consequences of accidents, i.e. fatalities and severity of injuries. Since 1 April 2018, regulation is in force and all new M1 and N1 model types of vehicles shall be equipped with the eCall service. Since 1st October 2017, EU Members States shall deploy eCall Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) equipped to handle the eCalls.
(A.2) EC perspective and progress report
In the event of an accident, in-vehicle sensors automatically trigger an eCall. An audio connection is made with the European emergency number 112 and routed to the PSAP. At the same time, emergency data are sent, providing information (the minimum set of data, or MSD) including the time, location and driving direction and other data. The emergency call can also be triggered manually.
Further conformance, performance and periodic tests need to be developed and innovative solutions found for situations (such as low cost, low powered 2-wheel vehicles- P2WVs) where normal full eCall provisions are not practical.
The European eCall Implementation Platform is making recommendations to ensure the best operation of the service and to take full advantage of all its possibilities. eCall is regulated for the life of the vehicle, and further provisions may be required in respect of periodic technical inspection (PTI) and test, and at end-of-life decommissioning.
Recognising that introducing the service via new vehicle models will mean taking considerable time to equip all cars, EU regulation has already encouraged automotive manufacturers to voluntarily introduce eCall in existing models. However, now that the public land mobile network (PLMN) and PSAP support networks are in place and operational, there is a considerable aftermarket opportunity to bring the benefits of eCall to the current stock of vehicles throughout Europe, and several equipment vendors (both from within Europe and abroad) have already shown interest to fill this market niche, in some cases directly for 112-eCall, and in others for third-party service-supported eCall. Other entrants are expected. However, as it will prove more difficult to control the performance and quality of such aftermarket devices, there is an urgent need to develop standards for the physical parameters, installation and operational performance of such aftermarket devices, to enable adequate certification and PTI provisions. This will be essential to avoid PSAPs to be potentially inundated with false messages from such devices, and to increase the reliable and safe operation of such devices.
Subsequently (voluntary) specifications have been developed to extend the benefits of eCall to all categories of vehicles, and to migrate from 2G/3G communications to any wireless IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) communications media, and in special circumstances, to be supported over satellite communications. As soon as the new IMS specifications are validated it is desirable to upgrade them to EN’s as soon as possible, so that they may be referenced in extensions to the current regulations.
(A.3) References
- Regulation (EU) 2015/758 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015 concerning type-approval requirements for the deployment of the eCall in-vehicle system based on the 112 service and amending Directive 2007/46/EC
- Commission delegated regulation (EU) of 26 November 2012 305/2013 supplementing Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the harmonised provision for an interoperable EU-wide eCall
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/78 of 15 July 2016 establishing administrative provisions for the EC type-approval of motor vehicles with respect to their 112-based eCall in-vehicle systems and uniform conditions for the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2015/758 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the privacy and data protection of users of such systems
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/79 of 12 September 2016 establishing detailed technical requirements and test procedures for the EC type-approval of motor vehicles with respect to their 112-based eCall in-vehicles systems, of 112-based eCall in-vehicle separate technical units and components and supplementing and amending Regulation (EU) 2015/758 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the exemptions and applicable standards
- COM 2011/750/EU: Commission Recommendation of 8 September 2011 on support for an EU-wide eCall service in electronic communication networks for the transmission of in-vehicle emergency calls based on 112 (eCalls)
- Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2010 on the framework for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and for interfaces with other modes of transport
- COM(2009) 434 final: eCall: Time for Deployment
- Directive 2002/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on universal service and users' rights relating to electronic communications networks and services (Universal Service Directive).
- Decision 585/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on the deployment of the interoperable EU-wide eCall service Text with EEA relevance
*Note: As an eCall is an emergency call, all relevant regulations applicable to emergency communication apply as well. See emergency communications section.
(B.) Requested actions
Action 1: SDOs to develop technical specification and standards for the implementation of eCall in vehicles of categories other than M1 and N1 and for other user types, taking into account requirements included within type-approval regulation and ongoing activities in this area (pilots, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), etc).
Action 2: SDOs to lay down physical and operating requirements for aftermarket in-vehicle devices.
Action 3: SDOs to draft guidelines on certification of eCall Systems including aftermarket in-vehicle devices.
Action 4: SDOs to provide conformance and performance tests to the recently developed standards for packet-switched networks (HLAP E-UTRAN — LTE/4G and migration to further generations by use of an IMS sublayer)
Action 5: SDOs to develop conformance and performance tests for recently developed technical specifications / standards for the provision of the eCall service eCall via shared vehicle platforms (C-ITS).
Action 6: SDOs to produce detailed conformity test specifications in support of certification schemes and periodic testing on IVS equipment.
Action 7: SDOs to carry out plugtest interoperability events, taking into account the technological evolution of the system[29].
Action 8: SDOs to collect feedback about the early versions of the standards and their implementation with technical representatives from vendors and implementers.
Action 9: SDOs to collect feedback from the relevant stakeholders on the real operation of the eCall service and when needed improve the standards, including through the European eCall Implementation Platform.
Action 10: SDOs to consider any changes to eCall that may be relevant in a 5G paradigm.
Action 11: In view of technology and networks evolution , SDOs to consider the development of conformance and interoperability test specifications for eCall provided over 4G (using VoLTE) and 5G (and VoNR) networks. When developing these specifications, considered the work done in CEN TS 17240
(C.) Activities and additional information
(C.1) Related standardisation activities
CEN
CEN/TC 278 WG 15 has developed several technical specifications (TS), EN standards, and other deliverables to define the MSD structure and the application protocols to transfer it from the vehicles to the PSAP, and the E2E test suites for Category M1 and N1 vehicles.
CEN/TC 278 WG 15 has developed several technical specifications (TS), EN standards, and other deliverables to enable and support eCall for all other categories of vehicle.
CEN/TC 278 WG15 has developed several technical specifications (TS), EN standards, and other deliverables to enable eCall via IMS networks, eCallvia C-ITS equipped vehicles, and eCall via satellite networks.
CEN/TC 278 WG15 has developed several technical specifications (TS), EN standards, and other deliverables to provide optional additional data while retaining the privacy requirements of the eCall Regulation and GDPR in order to provide better useful information to assist PSAPs to manage the response to the incident.
- EN 15722:2015 Intelligent transport systems - ESafety - ECall minimum set of data
- EN 16062:2015 Intelligent transport systems - ESafety - eCall high level application requirements (HLAP) using GSM/UMTS circuit switched networks
- EN 16072:2015 Intelligent transport systems - ESafety - Pan-European eCall operating requirements
- EN 16454:2015 Intelligent transport systems - ESafety - ECall end to end conformance testing
- TS 16405:2017 Intelligent transport systems - Ecall - Additional data concept specification for heavy goods vehicles
- EN 16102:2011 Intelligent transport systems - eCall - Operating requirements for third party support
- CEN/TS 17148 Intelligent Transport Systems - eSafety - ProForma eCall Agreement between TPSP and ERO
- CEN/TS 17182 Intelligent transport systems - eSafety - eCall via an ITS-station
- CEN/TS 17184 Intelligent transport systems - eSafety - eCall High level application Protocols (HLAP) using IMS packet switched networks
- CEN/TS 17240 Intelligent transport systems - eSafety - eCall end to end conformance testing for IMS packet switched based systems
- CEN/TS 17312 Intelligent transport systems - eSafety - eCall via satellite telecommunications
- CEN/TS 17234 Intelligent transport systems - eSafety - eCall: Tests to enable PSAPs to demonstrate conformance and performance
- CEN/TR 17249-1 Intelligent transport systems - eSafety - extending eCall to other categories of vehicle
- CEN/TS 17249-2 Intelligent transport systems - eSafety:Part 2: eCall for HGVs and other commercial vehicles
- CEN/TS 17249-3 Intelligent transport systems - eSafety - Part 3:eCall for Coaches and busses
- CEN/TS 17249-4 Intelligent transport systems - eSafety - Part 4: eCall for UNECE Category T, R, S agricultural/forestry vehicles
- CEN/TS 17249-5 Intelligent transport systems - eSafety - Part 5: eCall for UNECE Category L1 and L3 powered two wheel vehicles (vehicle based)
- CEN/TS 17249-6 Intelligent transport systems - eSafety - Part 6: eCall for UNECE Category L2, L4, L5, L6 and L7 Tricycles and Quadricycles (vehicle based)
Currently in approval procedures:
Intelligent transport systems - eSafety - eCall OAD for multiple Optional Additional Datasets
Intelligent transport systems - eCall optional additional data - Linked mobile phone number data concept
Intelligent transport systems - ESafety - Interoperability and user choice in 112 eCall aftermarket and third party eCall services
ETSI
ETSI TC MSG has published TS 103 683 “Next Generation eCall High Level Application Protocol (HLAP) Interoperability Testing”. This document was drafted by STF 568.
ETSI TC MSG (via 3GPP) has defined the transport protocol to send MSD from the vehicle system to the PSAP, via the GSM/UMTS network in several ETSI TS along with the service principles.
The STF 456 has looked at the issue of the migration of the Networks and has adopted and published ETSI TR 103 140.
ETSI TC MSG (via 3GPP) has defined the mechanism to send MSD from the vehicle to the PSAP via LTE using IMS.
ETSI TC MSG has produced interoperability and conformance testing specifications for the eCall HLAP and in-band modem and is developing guidelines for eCall IVS conformity assessment.
ETSI has support the organisation of several eCall Test Fests and Plugtest events
Pilots
CIP Pilots HeEROs (Harmonised eCall European Pilot) tested the standards in real conditions.
The iHeERO pilot under the 2014 CEF call for proposals is expected to produce relevant contributions for eCall standardisation.
ITU
Recommendation ITU-T P.1140 (2022): Speech communication requirements for emergency calls originating from vehicles.
https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-P.1140/en
ITU-T SG2 revised Recommendation ITU-T E.212 "The international identification plan for public networks and subscriptions". Under the revised E.212, mobile network code may be assigned to other applicants (e.g. for GSM-R networks) and these assignments are to be made according to procedures and criteria set by the national numbering plan administrator. It also encourages applications to the ITU's shared mobile country and network codes if networks and services are provided in more than one country. Use of global numbering resources for In Car Emergency Communication is under discussion in ITU-T Study Group 2. A statement on “global numbers used for the European eCall service” was published in ITU Operational Bulletin No.1155 of 1.IX.2018; TSB Circular 249 provides detailed background on in-car emergency services, such as eCall, and alerts national administrations, regulators and network operators that the ranges 883 130, 882 39 and 882 37 are being used for this service.
https://www.itu.int/md/T17-TSB-CIR-0249/en
The issue of ITU ranges for eCall services was also the subject of a recent ITU news article at https://news.itu.int/why-itu-assigned-numbering-ranges-are-critical-to-road-safety/ and video interview at https://youtu.be/VhA2S2ScJrw
ITU-T SG20 developed Recommendation ITU-T Y.4119 “Requirements and capability framework for IoT-based automotive emergency response system, Recommendation ITU-T Y.4467 “Minimum set of data structure for automotive emergency response system” and Recommendation ITU-T Y.4468 “Minimum set of data transfer protocol for automotive emergency response system”.
More info: https://itu.int/go/tsg20
ISO
ISO/TC 204: ITS. These cover standardisation of information, communication and control systems in the field of urban and rural surface transportation, including intermodal and multimodal aspects, traveller information, traffic management, public transport, commercial transport, emergency services and commercial services in the intelligent transport systems (ITS) field.
The project includes:
ISO/DIS 15638-10: ITS– Framework for cooperative Telematics Applications for Regulated commercial freight Vehicles (TARV) — Part 10: Emergency messaging system/eCall (EMS)
ISO/PWI 21344: ITS– Public transport — Emergency services eCall device for emergency on connected vehicles using ITS station
http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_technical_committee%3Fcommid%3D54706
IETF
The Emergency Context Resolution with Internet Technologies (ECRIT) Working Group has developed a general architecture for enabling IP applications to discover and connect to emergency services.
The Geographic Location/Privacy (GEOPRIV) Working Group has developed protocols that allow IP networks to inform end devices about their geolocation, a critical pre-requisite for emergency calling.
The application-specific working groups in the IETF (for example, the Session Initiation Protocol Core (SIPCORE) Working Group) have developed extensions to support emergency calling as required.
https://trac.ietf.org/trac/iab/wiki/Multi-Stake-Holder-Platform#eCall
(C.2) additional information
In respect of commercial vehicles and public transport vehicles, new recently developed Technical Specifications provide the possibility to link relevant related information (such as passenger numbers, commercial cargo type and detail, etc.), but further work may be required to enable and provide and exchange such information in a consistent manner to and between PSAPS, and provide additional information from sensors etc. In respect of public transport, innovative technologies may provide better assessment of the number of passengers involved, and additional specifications/standards may be needed to collect and present this detail to PSAPs in consistent and usable form.
Considerations need to be made for the provision of eCall in CCAM vehicles, especially to segregate eCalls from unmanned vehicles travelling between assignments from those where passengers are being transported in the vehicle.
As part of HeERO, EUCARIS (the European car and driving licence information system) has developed a module with which vehicle information can be exchanged internationally.
On the basis of the vehicle identification number (VIN), this module enables a link between the national vehicle registration authorities of the participating countries. When a foreign vehicle is involved in an accident, this module enables an instant Europe-wide search via EUCARIS to support the respective national 112 emergency centre(s).
[29] such as the eCall Testfest interoperability event which was held in Ostrava, Czech Republic, in November 2015 http://www.etsi.org/news-events/events/1002-4th-ecall-tesfest-2015