China Mobile Enters Connected Car Market with Gemalto

Gemalto, is supplying its LinqUS On-Demand Connectivity (ODC) Subscription Management solution and the GSMA compliant Embedded SIMs (eSIMs) to China Mobile. The operator is the world's largest telecom carrier with over 845 Million subscribers, and the solution will enable secure connectivity for connected cars.

As a result, with China Mobile network, a new subscription profile can be securely provisioned in any cars equipped with embedded SIM and end users will enjoy "in-car" connected services throughout the lifecycle of the car, such as infotainment, navigation support, safety or vehicle diagnostic.

The connected car market is projected to be worth US$130 billion by 2021. In the meantime, buyers are increasingly looking at value-added services as an important criterion when choosing a new ride, and fuss-free and high-quality connectivity will be an area of interest in years to come. Case in point, data from a 2015 McKinsey survey suggest that 60% of Chinese car owners would switch to another brand if they feel a competitor could offer better connectivity. China sold 24.6 million cars in 2015, and became the largest car market in the world. In such a competitive climate, automotive makers will have to innovate in all aspects in order to distinguish themselves from the rest.

Internet of Things is one of the most important growth drivers as China Mobile transforms from being a mobile network operator to becoming a digital service provider. The promise of IoT is immense.

"Today, Gemalto has deployed more than 20 On-Demand Connectivity solutions, and has executed at least 300 over-the-air (OTA) deployments around the globe. We also have the largest portfolio of M2M and IoT solutions and services, including eSIM, which are compliant with the latest GSMA specifications," said Suzanne Tong-Li, President, Greater China & Korea at Gemalto. "With such rich experience and expertise, we believe we are in a sweet spot to help operators like China Mobile make a successful leap to IoT."