Published: July 26, 2016
The Internet is forcing its way powerfully into the car, bringing with it all kinds of data, services and applications. The car is developing into a connected device and becoming an office on wheels.
The future of transportation has been redefined by one of the biggest automakers, BMW. From this month on, users of BMW ConnectedDrive can now book a WiFi hotspot using Deutsche Telekom’s HotSpot Drive portal. All vehicle classes of the Munich automotive company are provided with a “thinking” maintenance system, expanded traffic information, an automatic SOS or Google services.
The mobile hotspot makes it possible to connect up to 10 Wi-Fi-enabled devices to the high-speed Internet at the same time, without any need for them to have their own SIM cards.
Reinhard Clemens, member of the Deutsche Telekom Board and T-Systems CEO, said:
What we’re doing is taking the best network and putting it inside the car. Telecommunication and IT are now providing the basic technology for digitisation of the motor vehicle. As an experienced automotive industry partner, we are proud to be part of this cooperative initiative.
Dr. Peter Fertl, project manager at the BMW Group, said:
The Vehicular Small Cell will optimise in-vehicle connectivity of mobile devices for our customers. At the same time, the integration into a network of Vehicular CrowdCells will enable the ubiquitous and seamless availability of high-quality mobile radio connections outside the vehicle as well.
In October last year, a moving Wi-Fi hotspot was first integrated into BMW 7 and some other models as well. Since then, the company has been introducing new methods to stay ahead in the connected car space. However, from this year on, the new models of BMW are going to be fitted with Deutsche Telekom’s technology of mobile Wi-Fi. It is the first company, which is going to embed eSIM permanently into the vehicles and once installed, the software can be updated over-the-air whenever required.
