AT&T and Vodafone Business partner, driving seamless IoT connectivity in the automotive sector

AT&T and Vodafone Business have announced a new partnership, in which the companies will work to accelerate Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and innovation to aid in the transformation of the automotive industry.

Bringing together industry-leading expertise in the development of superior and consistent connected car solutions and experiences for customers across their combined footprints in North America, Europe and Africa, the companies will prioritise projects to enhance safety, security and entertainment capabilities.

Automotive companies are continuing to face a number of challenges when deploying connected car solutions across countries. With each market housing unique requirements and regulations, there are growing complexities for automakers to develop solutions which will be universally adopted across multiple network operators and vendors.

With a significant understanding around the complexity of global deployments, the companies will work to simplify the deployment process, improve operations, deliver innovative solutions, and make the network certification process easier.

“This alliance with Vodafone Business is a natural extension of our existing relationship,” Chris Penrose, President, Internet of Things Solutions, AT&T stated in a recent press release. “We each have rich experience in connected vehicle technology.  By working together, we can innovate faster and help our global customers bring connectivity, entertainment and telematics to more vehicles across our respective footprints.”

“Our work with AT&T will benefit automotive manufacturers and their customers around the world as we simplify processes and provide a consistent experience to accelerate IoT adoption in this fast-moving market,” commented Stefano Gastaut, IoT Director, Vodafone Business. “As technology complexity increases, this is the right time to make technology adoption easier for the automotive industry to help them achieve their business outcomes.”

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Key areas of focus will be:

• 5G and autonomous vehicle technology
• V2X capabilities (vehicle-to-everything) – Vodafone has been testing C-V2X (Cellular-vehicle-to-everything) in Germany for the past two years, integrated with adaptive cruise control, paving the way for autonomous driving.
• In-vehicle entertainment
• Connected car applications and services
• Global service quality models
• Connected car/ smart cities intersection

AT&T and Vodafone Business will each provide connected car services and products for the automotive, fleet and insurance industries, integrating electronic and telematics systems into complex vehicles, both at the point of manufacture and beyond. Bringing more than 50 years of experience in the automotive industry in total, the companies collectively work with close to 50 global automotive brands, connecting  more than 43mn cars and trucks.

Both AT&T and Vodafone also are pioneering the future of transportation and autonomous driving:

• AT&T and Vodafone are board members of the 5GAA, a global, cross-industry organisation of companies from the automotive, technology and telecoms industries, working together to develop end-to-end solutions for future vehicular mobility and transportation services.
• Testing Facilities: In Germany, Vodafone has opened a 5G lab and test track to work with automotive companies to develop new transport innovations utilising 5G. AT&T is a founding member and exclusive connectivity provider of the American Center for Mobility, an advanced automotive development proving ground near Detroit, Michigan.
• Safety: AT&T is a founding member of Together for Safer Roads – a coalition of global, private sector companies focused on improving road safety and reducing deaths and injuries from car accidents.