2016 Audi Cars To Have AT&T 4G LTE

Audi's 2016 cars will have mobile broadband, and it'll be delivered via AT&T. The announcement was made today at Mobile World Congress 2015, with the auto maker saying 4G LTE will be available in areas where it is offered, otherwise the cars will offer 3G. The auto maker boasts that the two companies together produced North America's first car with an integrated 4G LTE data connection in the US last year, and that it'll be doing that on a much larger scale in the future with its entire 2016 fleet.

Audi and AT&T have had a relatively long-running relationship, and this marks one of its biggest collective efforts thus far. Says the auto maker, its 2016 cars with Audi connect will be provided with a SIM from the carrier, giving it access to AT&T's network (as long as the car is in the carrier's coverage area, of course).

Among the models that'll be connected — there are 19 of them — the A6, A7 and TT are said to offer Audi connect's most advanced version, including things like OTA updates for maps, real-time traffic info, and even RSS news feeds that'll be read out loud to drivers.

Existing AT&T customers will be able to add their Audi car to their mobile plan alongside their phone or tablet under a Mobile Share data plan option. Said Audi's product management director Filip Brabec, "The convenience and added benefit of having Audi connect services in our vehicles, along with Wi-Fi access for up to eight devices, serves as a competitive advantage for our brand."

SOURCE: Audi