AT&T signs connected car deal with Volvo

US operator AT&T has entered into a multi-year agreement with Swedish car manufacturer Volvo to provide internet connectivity in vehicles in the USA and Canada starting this summer.

Volvo’s embedded infotainment solution, Sensus Connect, will be powered by AT&T’s single SIM platform and new Volvo drivers will also be able to access Volvo On Call; the firm’s emergency crash notification and diagnostics service.

The solution incorporates AT&T’s service management platform AT&T Control Center powered by M2M solutions provider Jasper Wireless, which recently won a Telecoms.com 2014 Award for the Progress in Machine to Machine Communications category. According to the operator, the solution enables Volvo to manage wireless device deployment and operations across markets with advanced diagnostic tools and smart alerting.

Earlier this month, electric car manufacturer Tesla announced M2M agreements with European operator groups Telefónica and KPN. Telefónica’s global M2M platform is also powered by Jasper Wireless. The deal sees the operators provide in-car connectivity for Tesla’s Model S across several European nations.

Last month, AT&T revealed plans to develop an in-vehicle video service as part of its connected car offering, following on from the opening of a connected car centre in Atlanta, the AT&T Drive Studio in January.

AT&T Drive is a modular connected car platform that aims to package connectivity, billing, data analytics and infotainment to car makers and developers. The carrier has teamed up with multi-play services vendor QuickPlay Media to launch a live linear TV and video on demand streaming services to car makers collaborating with the operator in the AT&T Drive Studio.