Carmakers Begin Shift to Ultra-Fast 4G Connectivity

This summer Europe's carmakers are introducing the industry's first vehicles equipped to handle 4G LTE (long-term evolution) wireless, a technology that promises 10 times the throughput of the current 3G standard, notes Automotive News.

The faster connection, asserts Markus Dietz, who head LTE development at BMW AG, "is a real game-changer" for carmakers.

Dietz says 4G enables in-car high-definition video streaming, more sophisticated cloud-based navigation and significant improvements for e-mail, traffic updates and other wireless services. The technology can provide a higher-speed Internet connection than those currently available for most homes and offices and it can simultaneously serve as many as six devices in the vehicle, he adds.

IHS Automotive forecasts that the number of LTE-connected cars worldwide will zoom from 1.2 million in 2015 to 16 million in 2017.

Volkswagen AG's Audi unit debuted LTE connectivity in July in European versions of the S3 Sportback. It plans to expand the service to its S3 and A3 small cars by November and in select models in the U.S. next year.

BMW AG already offers an optional LTE wi-fi "hot spot" module for its European models. The unit is activated through the vehicle operator's LTE smartphone or special SIM card.

AN says Daimler AG will make an LTE antenna standard for all its European models by mid-2014.

The switch to 4G is likely to occur must faster in Europe, where carmakers can accommodate LTE-enabled mobile phones from any telecommunications provider. In the U.S., the companies must sign separate licensing agreements with each signal carrier.

General Motors Co. plans to offer LTE service for most of its 2015 models through its OnStar telematics subsidiary, according to AN. The online newspaper says Ford Motor Co. is expected to upgrade its Sync system to accept LTE-enables smartphones, but the timetable isn't clear.