How an Irish supplier overcame a major connectivity hurdle

Irish-based software specialist Cubic Telecom offers connectivity solutions to companies such as Volkswagen Group, Panasonic and Harley Davidson. CEO Barry Napier says the company has simplified the connectivity process and overcome the technical, legal and regulatory challenges faced in different markets. He explained how in an interview with Automotive News Europe Correspondent Olive Keogh.

Who or what is driving the connectivity agenda?

There are two very different types of use-case scenarios. The first involves consumers who want instant connectivity across their world because they can’t live or do business without it. Millennials need three things: oxygen, water and connectivity. The second relates to the car manufacturers because connectivity has the potential to create a direct relationship between them and their end customer for the first time.

Could you elaborate?

Traditionally, there has been little or no direct contact between manufacturers and car buyers. Connectivity will change this. It will enable manufacturers to see all the data being generated by their cars in real time such as what options a customer ordered and whether they are using them. Connectivity also greatly increases what manufacturers can offer customers. It’s no longer a case of options being ordered in advance and added during production. Connectivity means cars will come pre-loaded with the software to enable all the vehicle’s possible functions. Consumers can decide now or in a year’s time what they want to activate and pay for either through their dealer or directly to the manufacturer.

What do you see as the biggest challenge for connectivity?

People think it’s simple because they are surrounded by it in their everyday lives. The difficulty comes when you try to globalize it. It has been proved that Wi-Fi is not a secure connectivity solution. It’s exactly the same with the car. You need a secure channel. But when you go from country to country or from Asia to America to Europe the mobile network spectrum bands are completely different.

Are there other big challenges?

Yes, around laws and regulation. We are experiencing local regulators seeking to ban permanent roaming. Russia, China and Brazil are prime examples of where permanent roaming is banned today and this trend is spreading to other important global markets. This rules out using a roaming solution for a global auto manufacturer. Having a truly localized solution with right-on-the-edge fast speeds and fast user experience is really where the demand is starting to come. 

What scares people most about the move toward more connectivity?

Issues around who owns the data. Data can be used positively or negatively. We believe it should be used for good. This is why we work closely with Microsoft. They take a very responsible attitude toward data.

What is the next big game changer?

5G and what it will enable. It will be phenomenal. We will see an increase in the services being streamed directly to the car, and we will see more manufacturers offering Wi-Fi hot spots in their vehicles.

By making it possible to have secure global connectivity that will work with any device on any network. If you go back five years, the auto manufacturers were dealing with five to 10 different modules and between 40 and 60 SIM cards depending on what country the vehicle was going to. But if a car moved to another country, then it was highly likely certain functions wouldn’t work because they were only configured for the country of sale. We reduced this to two modules, one for China and one for the rest of the world. We also eliminated the SIM card and turned what was on it into software. We have created neutral layer, which is a platform that sits on top. We then fine-tune anything in relation to the module to make it work. Depending on where the car is going geographically, we will customize the profile so the vehicle acts locally.