AT&T's Newest Integration: Controlling Your Home From Your Car

Amidst all the things going on at MWC today, AT&T has made a big announcement: the company's connected car platform can now be connected to the maker's own home automation/security service, tying both home and vehicle together in a way that makes both work together. AT&T Digital Life is the maker's home security and automation service, obviously available for one's home, while AT&T Drive is the maker's connected car platform. With this new support, AT&T's own Digital Life becomes the first so-called "home management system" that works with its Drive platform.

AT&T bids its Drive connected car platform as a way for auto makers to cherry pick services and such for any given model — something obviously in competition with some of the other big-name car platforms out there. For AT&T customers, though, it just became a more attractive option via the integration of AT&T's Digital Life app.

Users can access the Digital Life app from their car's dashboard control panel (or use voice recognition when needed). Through this, home elements like the thermostat and door locks, lights, and more can be accessed, as well as the garage door, eliminating the need for a separate garage door opener.

As one example of how this will work, someone who has both services could leave for work in the morning and, upon realizing they forgot to lock a door or turn down the heat, do those things using their car's control panel. It's a simple yet profound step in home automation control.

SOURCE: AT&T