Telecom Lead Europe: LTE connected cars are on overdrive.
Deutsche Telekom and the BMW say LTE Internet connected cars can get speed of up to 100 megabits per second on their cell phone, laptop or tablet computer.
Connected cars — exhibited at CeBIT 2013 — provide passengers and drivers with as many as eight WiFi devices at a time for high speed Internet.
Deutsche Telekom, which has 17 million broadband lines, has set up 12,000 hotspots in Germany and 50,000 worldwide. It providers broadband to travelers in trains and planes.
Reinhard Clemens, board member of Deutsche Telekom, says cars are a natural extension.
At connected cars, drivers can synchronize his or her terminal before departure or during breaks and use it to stream music.
Passengers can download large amounts of data. Children can stream videos in the back seat, listen to music or play games online using portable consoles.
For the best possible network reception, the company has installed a built-in antenna in the car. There will be no additional bill to their individual mobile bills as well.
At the recently concluded Mobile World Congress 2012, Ford brought 17 kitted-out cars, pickups, and vans to show off what the new models were capable of.
In addition, General Motors announced an alliance with AT&T Wireless to bring high-speed 4G LTE connectivity to 2015 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac models for sale beginning next autumn.
By 2015, 20 percent of all new vehicle sales will be what the industry calls connected cars, according to GSMA.
Before the connected car becomes a success, the industry will have to solve five big problems, according to BusinessWeek.
BMW ConnectedDrive hotspot will be available with Sixt, Germany’s biggest car rental company.
In the summer of 2013, a large proportion of the BMW cars at the rental company’s fleet will have BMW ConnectedDrive hotspots. The new service will be free for Sixt and Deutsche Telekom hotspot customers to use for the first 12 months.
Plans are in place to make the offer available to further customer groups in the future.
Ambika K
editor@telecomlead.com
