Automotive industry adopts GSMA embedded SIM specification to accelerate connected car market
Major companies from across the automotive and transportation sector are supporting the GSMA Embedded SIM Specification to help accelerate the growth of the connected car market, the GSMA has announced.
The interoperable specification has been backed by international brands including General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Renault Nissan, Scania and Volvo Cars, and will enable automakers to remotely provision connectivity over the air to vehicles with an operator of their choice. It will help to deliver a range of in-vehicle services such as infotainment, real time navigation, insurance and breakdown services, as well as telematics and remote diagnostics. The use of the specification will also help to quickly connect vehicles with local operators, regardless of where the cars are manufactured.
“The GSMA Embedded SIM Specification has progressed from the first availability of commercial solutions to industry adoption in a very short space of time. 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,” said Alex Sinclair, chief technology officer, GSMA. “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.”
The connected car market is set for exponential growth. Gartner Research has forecast that one in five vehicles will have some form of wireless network connection by 2020, equating to more than 250 million connected vehicles in service. Additionally, Machina Research estimates that the total number of connections in the connected car market will grow at a CAGR of 31% from 182 million in 2015 to 693 million in 2020 . Analyst house Berg Insight also notes that in-vehicle embedded telematics systems shipped 1.9 million units in 2014, a figure that is expected to reach 15 million by 2020.
Commented Jaguar Land Rover’s Mike Bell, global connected car director: “Jaguar Land Rover is putting connectivity at the heart of its vehicles to deliver a range of safety, security, convenience and infotainment features for our customers. The GSMA Embedded SIM Specification allows Jaguar Land Rover to reduce manufacturing complexity, adapt to changing regulatory frameworks and work with the best mobile operators, on a country-specific or regional basis, improving the customer offering to deliver the next generation of connected services over the lifetime of our vehicles.”
Stated Fredrik Callenryd, senior business strategy manager, Scania: “The GSMA Embedded SIM Specification solves a number of fundamental issues in auto manufacturing principally in-market localisation and lifecycle management that enable us to provide an efficient, robust and global product.”
And Alexandre Corjon, Renault-Nissan alliance global VP, electrics electronics and systems engineering, added: “The Renault – Nissan Alliance is a global industry innovator for technology for mainstream and mass-market consumers. Supporting the GSMA Embedded SIM Specification will help sustain our innovations by enforcing a reliable and stabilized solution and enable us to offer more flexible and agile solutions. We will be able to offer our customers ease of use and a high quality of service which are Renault – Nissan’s main objectives.”
