AT&T and Vodafone Team Up to Drive IoT Connectivity in the Automotive Industry

According to a recent announcement, AT&T and Vodafone Business are working together to accelerate Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and innovation in the automotive industry. The companies reportedly will develop superior and consistent connected car solutions and experiences for customers across their combined footprints in North America, Europe and Africa.

Automotive companies face many challenges when deploying connected car solutions across countries. Each market has unique requirements and regulations, and it can be complicated for automakers to work across multiple network operators and vendors.

AT&T and Vodafone Business said they aim to address these challenges. The goal is 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,” said Chris Penrose, President, Internet of Things Solutions, AT&T. “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,” said 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. This is the goal of this alliance.”

The companies will prioritize projects to enhance safety, security and entertainment capabilities. Key areas of focus will be:

• 5G and autonomous vehicle technology
• V2X capabilities (vehicle-to-everything)
• In-vehicle entertainment
• Connected car applications and services
• Global service quality  models
• Connected car/ smart cities intersection