Connected Cars Driving Innovation | AT&T Business

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"We're at an inflection point," Cameron Coursey , Vice President of Connected Solutions at AT&T said, speaking on the subject of "connected cars" during the "Smart Mobility Summit" at Mobile World Congress 2023 (MWC23). "The coming together of public and private interests," making cars safer and more fuel efficient, should inspire the automotive and telecommunications industries "to go the extra mile" to drive new innovations and efficiencies for consumers, government, and enterprise.

Citing some of the advantages of connected cars, Coursey explained that connected cars could enable smart cities to route traffic more efficiently, provide near real-time information about road conditions, and provide "pedestrian proximity alerts" from pedestrians’ cell phones, lessening accidents.

What's a "Connected Car"?

A connected car, often called a "smart car," is a vehicle that can communicate, receive, and relay information through cellular mobile connectivity, devices, and solutions. "Today, there are more than 125 million connected cars worldwide, including more than 55 million on the AT&T network."

A Shift to Electric Vehicles and a Future with Autonomous Vehicles Drive an Elevation in Software-Defined Vehicles

“As we look at the next five to seven years, the prevalence of electrification and autonomous cars creates an elevation in the ‘software-defined vehicle’ and requires a mobile network operator to participate with those manufacturers because they’re pushing out more updates,” noted Hardmon Williams , Senior Vice President of Connected Solutions at AT&T, also speaking on the subject of connected cars at Mobile World Congress 2023 in Las Vegas.

Imaging Added Connectivity for Electric Cars

Elaborating on the future of mobility and electric cars at the Smart Mobility Summit at MWC23, Coursey said drivers of electric vehicles would want information on electric charging stations. They will want to know where the charging stations are and the wait times, creating an expanded demand for automotive connectivity.

Smart Cars Connecting to America's Most Reliable 5G Network

Connected cars depend on fast, secure, high-capacity, reliable connectivity for many of the innovations they offer. Providing America's most reliable 5G network, AT&T is collaborating with the automotive industry as the industry becomes more "connected" and software-defined (dependent on wireless software updates to vehicles to provide new in-car services and equipment updates).

Imaging New "Smart Car" Services: Connecting Patients to Care

Imagining the future of connected cars, healthcare provides examples of new possibilities. Leveraging AT&T's super-fast, highly secure, reliable 5G connectivity allows first responders, such as emergency medical technicians, to share patient data in near real-time from their connected emergency vehicles with doctors awaiting a patient's arrival in a hospital emergency room. Life-saving innovations for emergency vehicles map a future with other connected vehicles that are limited only by the imagination.

AT&T Driving Safety with HAAS

AT&T is driving roadway safety with connected cars. One example of this is AT&T's collaboration with HASS Alert.

HAAS Alert’s Safety Cloud is the "largest cellular V2X (vehicle to everything) solution in deployment, connecting emergency vehicles, roadway infrastructure, and other transportation assets in a consolidated real-time communication platform with motorists and consumer vehicles." HAAS Alerts deliver "hazard alerts and notifications to connected vehicles that notify drivers of nearby emergency vehicles, upcoming incidents, and other hazards, so drivers have the ability to move over safely."

HAAS Alerts provides drivers of connected cars with alerts of nearby emergencies, improving safety for all drivers. The HAAS alert improves safety for drivers who might otherwise miss the sound or sight of emergency sirens or signals or who might hear or see the emergency sirens and signals with little time to respond safely.

AT&T notes that its HAAS Alert’s collaboration opens up new opportunities for advanced cellular V2X applications "including smarter traffic management, emergency vehicle prioritization, and data-driven solutions that generate new insights into traffic patterns and road conditions."

Bringing Deep Business Experience to the Automotive Industry: AT&T Fleet Management

As a leader in telematics, using connectivity, devices, and solutions to provide data to optimize routes, fuel efficiency, and safety for fleet management, AT&T brings deep experience in vehicular connectivity to the automotive industry's newest innovations. This experience becomes increasingly important as the automotive industry drives to a future of more software-defined vehicles.