Tata Motors has taken the first step towards introducing smart cars in India. The automobile giant has tied up with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for the first-of-its-kind machine-to-machine (M2M) communications deal, according to an Economic Times report.
Tata Motors is sourcing embedded SIM cards from the state-owned telco for its car models. Get ready to see Tata Motor’s Hexa, Tiago, and the newly launched SUV Harrier convert into smart cars in less than a year’s time.
The BSNL Story
BSNL chairman Anupam Shrivastava told ET, “We have already partnered with Tata Motors for embedded SIM functionality.” Tata Motors, on the other hand, is yet to confirm the news.
Shrivastava said BSNL is anticipating sales of 50 million future ready 5G capability M2M SIM cards within the next year for primarily home automation and automobile sectors. According to him, with its admittance into the M2M space, BSNL has the potential to grow upto Rs. 1,200 crore in revenues annually. He is modestly estimating for now that each SIM would fetch the telco at least Rs. 20 per month.
In fact, BSNL has been trying to find a new opening to deal with the cut-throat competition and rivalry in this sector and it seems the telco hit the right cord this time around.
Need for M2M
M2M is touted to create a pulsating Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, where machines, cars, home appliances can be plugged to the internet. It is the perfect thing to ensure that the fifth generation or 5G networks gain traction quickly.
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Experts are of the opinion, that smart cars would enable the automakers to offer better consumer experience. This can be done by introducing new-age products for traffic information, facial recognition and weather forecasts with real-time connected features via a wireless network. Leading automakers are also looking for ultra-fast mobile data services delivered over 5G networks for evolving, building and improving features. Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai India, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra dominate the passenger vehicle market of India. Together they have a collective share of around 85%. Tata Motors, the Mumbai based automakers, sold 237,217 passenger vehicles in 2018, an impressive growth of 24% over its 2017 sale of 191,107 vehicles.