Audi Signs with T-Mobile, Gets Slammed to AT&T

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

Remember the practice of "slamming" from the land-line days. (Or even remember the land-line days?) The equivalent occurred to Audi in its announcement yesterday that the automaker will use T-Mobile as the wireless carrier for its new Audi Connect system -- a day after T-Mobile announced that it's being swallowed up by AT&T.

Of course, T-Mobile is telling its customers that nothing will change for now and it will continue to operate as a separate company. But if you have a 2012 A7 on order with Audi Connect and don't have AT&T as a wireless carrier, call someone who does -- on their land line.

Audi Connect, which debuts on the new A7 when it arrives in dealerships next month, provides such services as voice-activated Google Earth navigation mapping and Google Local Search. It will also feature real-time news, weather and fuel-price info and create a Wi-Fi hot spot in the vehicle so that passengers can connect to the Internet via portable devices.

Rather than use an embedded modem like most telematics services, such as OnStar, Audi Connect will employ a removable T-Mobile SIM card that integrates with Audi's MMI Navigation Plus system. The SIM card will be included with the vehicle, along with six months of free Audi Connect service. Or about half the time it will take for the T-Mobile/AT&T merger to be completed, if it successfully makes it over regulatory hurdles.

So at least a new Audi owner will have time try out the service for a while before signing on for another data plan. And to find out if T-Mobile's top customer-satisfaction scores rub off on bottom-dweller AT&T.

Fortunately for Audi, a T-Mobile SIM card can be easily switched out for one from AT&T. Unfortunately for Audi owners, it can't be switched out with one from any other wireless carrier.

Audi Signs with T-Mobile, Gets Slammed to AT&T

 

[Wolfgang]

Audi USA chooses T-Mobile for Audi Connect

Audi said T-Mobile will be its wireless carrier in the US for the Audi Connect system. The German premium car maker said it chose T-Mobile because of its reliability, the breadth of its network, its track record in automotive telematics and strong customer satisfaction with the carrier.

Audi Connect, which will launch next year in the Audi A7, will offer users the ability to obtain real-time information, voice-activated Google searches and Sirius traffic information combined with Google Earth imagery. The system can also turn the vehicle into a mobile Wifi hotspot.

The Audi Connect services will be enabled with a special T-Mobile SIM card that will be included in the vehicle and merely needs to be activated. Johan de Nysschen, Audi of America president, said in a press release that Audi Connect is part of the brand’s strategy to “lead with first-to-market, cutting-edge connected services.”

John Horn, national director of machine-to-machine operations at T-Mobile USA, said: “The Audi Connect service is a great example of how the vehicle ownership experience can be enhanced with wireless connectivity and we’re thrilled to be a part of it.”

Deutsche Telekom, Germany’s biggest telecommunications group, announced earlier this week that it had agreed to sell T-Mobile to AT&T for 39 billion dlrs. The pact, which would make AT&T the dominant mobile player in the US, is subject to regulatory approval. Telecoms analysts doubt the sale will be approved without a requirement for AT&T to make some divestments.

Audi USA chooses T-Mobile for Audi Connect - automotiveIT International