Major automotive and mobile companies are supporting a new interoperable specification to help accelerate the growth of the connected car market.
Mobile industry association the GSMA said that its Embedded SIM Specification has the backing of major vehicle manufacturers including General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Renault Nissan, Scania and Volvo Cars.
In addition, 22 mobile operators worldwide have commercially launched solutions based on the specification. They include Orange, Vodafone, Telefónica Group, AT&T, Bell Canada, Deutsche Telekom and NTT DOCOMO.
The adoption of an interoperable specification will reduce fragmentation and help the industry take advantage of the Internet of Things, according to the GSMA.
The common specification will enable manufacturers to remotely provision connectivity over the air to vehicles with an operator of their choice. It will help deliver a range of in-vehicle services, such as infotainment, real-time navigation, insurance and breakdown services, as well as telematics and remote diagnostics.
Use of the specification will also allow vehicles to quickly connect with local operators, wherever they are.
“The GSMA Embedded SIM Specification has progressed from the first availability of commercial solutions to industry adoption in a very short space of time,” commented Alex Sinclair, chief technology officer at the GSMA. “The automotive sector is set for huge growth and it is clear that a common, global standard will help mobile operators to provide scalable, reliable and secure connectivity to vehicles regardless of location.”
Sinclair added: “This approach will help car manufacturers offer any type of in-car connected service through a single SIM, which can be provisioned with the profile of a mobile operator once the car is shipped, as well as at the end of a contract, without the SIM needing to be changed.”
