TRIESTE – Autostrada del Brennero is taking a new strategic step towards the mobility of the future, focusing on 5G connectivity and autonomous driving.
The European project 5G-BEAM has been presented, an 8.7 million euro initiative co-financed 50% by the European Commission under the Connecting Europe Facility programme. The project, officially launched on 1 December 2025 and set to run for 36 months, involves the deployment of advanced 5G coverage along the Brenner corridor, from Modena to the Austrian border, with an extension to Germany.
Led by Autostrada del Brennero together with industrial and academic partners, 5G-BEAM aims to develop a high-performance 5G Standalone network, with ultra-low latency and high reliability, to enable connected and automated mobility. The A22 thus confirms its role as a strategic axis of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean corridor, set to become a “smart road” capable of communicating with vehicles, improving safety, traffic flow and environmental sustainability.
Among the main expected benefits are a drastic reduction in response times compared with human driving, with direct effects on accident prevention, and more efficient traffic-flow management, resulting in lower emissions. The project also includes the integration of edge computing and direct vehicle-infrastructure communication systems (5G-V2X), even in the absence of traditional coverage, as well as the ability to handle large volumes of data and connected devices.
An evolution of the trials already launched with C-Roads and 5G-CARMEN, the project will make it possible to overcome the limits of pilot networks and the current dependence on 4G, paving the way for continuous and operational 5G coverage. Over the three-year period, concrete use cases will be tested, from emergency vehicle management to worksite safety and communication continuity in tunnels.
