AT&T, Bridge Alliance collaborate to strengthen global connected car leadership

NEW DELHI: Telecom giant AT&T and members of Bridge Alliance have formed a long-term agreement to extend their global connected car leadership to new territories.

Bridge Alliance is a leading group of mobile carriers in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Today, AT&T connects more than 11 million cars in the United States and abroad.

Together, the two organizations expect to grow the number of connected cars on the road.

“Teaming with members of Bridge Alliance helps simplify global deployments with local operator networks in these regions,” said Chris Penrose, President, Internet of Things Solutions, AT&T. “This is huge for our automotive customers. It gives them an opportunity to access customers in countries which collectively cover nearly 30% of the world’s population."

This collaboration sets forth the framework to extend the geographic coverage AT&T could provide to automotive manufacturers looking to enhance their infotainment offerings in the growth markets served by members of Bridge Alliance. This will help the 22 global automotive and long-haul truck brands that AT&T works with create an improved driving experience for their global customer base.

For the customers collectively served by Bridge Alliance, this helps to give them access to solutions like Wi-Fi hotspots, internet radio and live traffic. Until now, these features have been more difficult for automotive manufacturers to implement globally.

“Our collaboration with AT&T is based on the alignment and integration of processes, platforms and propositions. This presents exciting possibilities for the automotive industry, helping to accelerate the delivery of cutting-edge connected car solutions in our markets,” said Eileen Tan, CEO, Bridge Alliance.

Beyond better serving the needs of the auto manufacturers, this collaboration will help bring new IoT solutions forward in the global automotive industry.