Sim on Wheels

Telcos tap the connected cars opportunity

·      Telcos play a critical role in the connected car ecosystem as modern cars use e-Sims and Wi-Fi hotspots to communicate with other connected vehicles and IoT devices.

·       IoT technology lies at the heart of the connected cars.

·     Industry is witnessing the emergence of Connected Car 2.0, wherein vehicle-to-everything (V2X) tech. will make it possible for vehicles to communicate with smart traffic signals and even to conduct a transaction at a petrol pump.

·       The connected car segment, one of the fastest-growing application areas of IoT is estimated to generate $40 billion (Euro 36.2 billion) worth of revenues per the year 2020 onwards.

·       US-based AT&T has partnered with car companies such as Audi, Chevrolet, Honda, Ford, Acura, Jaguar, Prsche, and Cadillac to offer in car Wi-Fi services.

·       The in-car, Wi-Fi feature turns the user's car into a powerful hotspot and allows connectivity of up to 10 devices.

·       Using this hotspot several users can stream, browse and share on the go, experiencing 4G long term evolution of wireless connectivity.

·       Vodafone is currently working with more than 70% of European original equipment manufacturers, notably BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, and Daimler.

·       Stolen vehicle recovery is an additional end to end service offered by Vodafone.

·       In Aug 2014, Vodafone acquired Cobra, later consolidated as Vodafone Automotive, which provides a range of end to end services including usage based insurance and a secure operating center for stolen vehicle tracking, vehicle recovery and crash reconstruction

·       Meanwhile, Bosch, Vodafone, and Huawei have been performing trials of the new, high-performance Cellular-V2X tech. in Europe since 2017.

·       The companies are demonstrating that a driver assistance system such as adaptive cruise control not only warns the driver but also automatically adjusts the speed and controls braking.

·       Volvo Car Group has partnered with Ericsson to use the later industrialized Connected Vehicle Cloud (CVC) platform to further expand its digital vehicle services to more than 120 markets worldwide.

·        In India, Hyundai has recently showcased the connected SUV Venue, which is equipped with an inbuilt tamper-proof device powered by Vodafone Idea’s e-SIM.

·       The SUV sports Blue Link, Hyundai’s global technology to be launched in the Indian market with 33 features including 10 India- specific features.

·       In April 2019, a customized solution developed by Unlimit in partnership with Cisco and Airtel powered the connected experience in MG Hector.

·       The connected mobility solution is also Intel Protocol Version 6 ready, making it the first e-SIM enabled internet car in India which will redefine connected mobility.

·       In 2017, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited signed a contract with Airwaire Tech. to offer the latter connected car IoT devices to Indian customers.

·       Under this partnership, AirWire Connected Car devices will be manufactured in India.