Connectivity is a prime matter of consideration when it comes to new vehicles models being introduced today and under development for tomorrow, both for manufacturers and for their customers. Not only that, but the pace at which advances are being made and technologies integrated in vehicles has quickened to breakneck speed. The race is on among automakers to be the first to offer new tech, and to offer more of it than the next guy.
For Audi, as early as 2024, that tech will include 5G connectivity. In the United States, it will come via the Verizon network, but since that provider is not present in Canada, the question of its integration here remains open. 2024 is still two years, of course, which leaves plenty of time for finding a solution to that challenge.
Th adoption of 5G technology will change the game in the domain, especially with the much faster Internet connection speeds that come with it. It will also allow for quicker, more-efficient updates to vehicle software.
As it happens, 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of the introduction of Wi-Fi connectivity inside an Audi model in the United States. Specifically, the German automaker first went connected with the A7 sedan for 2012. The system at the time had the aptly if unoriginally named AudiConnect.
Audi says it’s also working on other forms of communication, such as Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X). This could allow a model, for example, to drive at the perfect speed on a boulevard so that it only encounters only green traffic lights. The fast bandwidth that 5G technology offers will enable advances in this area.
Audi drivers will be among the first in the world to experience a new generation of automobiles, one in which their car is both a 5G mobile device and a vehicle,” said Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business.
Added Filip Brabec, senior vice president of product management for Audi America, “Audi was the first automaker to bring in-vehicle Wi-Fi to customers as well as 4G LTE connectivity in the 2015 A3, and we will be among the first to bring the next generation of connectivity to our customers in the U.S.”
CEO Erwin’s statement is particularly noteworthy. Indeed, vehicles are becoming both a means of transportation and a mobile transmission device. You may like that or you may not, but the pull of advanced tech in this field seems irresistible, the momentum towards it unstoppable.
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