US firms Hughes Telematics and Qualcomm have successfully demonstrated the data transmission technology needed for the upcoming eCall standard, a European Commission project.

The in-vehicle eCall system, when installed in a car, will generate a 112-voice connection directly with the relevant public safety answering point (PSAP) in the event of an accident.

The data will be transmitted either manually by vehicle occupants or automatically via activation of in-car sensors.

The call would send key information about the accident such as time, location and vehicle description to the PSAP operator.

For the demonstration, held in Belgium, the companies showcased the eCall wireless network by making a call to a prototype of an eCall-enabled PSAP in Germany.

Using an eCall in-band modem, the minimum set of data was successfully transmitted to the PSAP.