Operators in Europe are moving into the connected car market through a wide range of technologies including LTE, Wi-Fi and even Near Field Communications. For example, Vodafone is using cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies in its products, according to Matt Key, Vodafone M2M's commercial director, while T-Systems' Joerg Sasse said Deutsche Telekom uses cellular connections and embedded SIMs for vehicle-centric services and smartphone tethering for driver-centric applications.
And the connected car market -- which includes monitoring and delivering services to automobiles -- is significant. Analysts at SNS Research in July said the connected car segment is one of the fastest growing areas of the IoT, predicting the sector could generate $40 billion worth of revenues per year by 2020.
As U.S. cable operators continue to build out public Wi-Fi networks, the connected car opportunity may grow into something the industry may play in.
For more on this topic, check out FierceWireless:Europe's new feature: Vodafone, Orange and Deutsche Telekom race as Europe's connected car money makers.