Los Angeles, California and Overland Park, Kansas, USA – Sprint has announced that its Sprint VelocitySM business unit is entering a second year of operations with expanded capabilities for car manufacturers, including the official automotive debut of Sprint Velocity Connect.
With this expansion, Sprint Velocity, a global end-to-end telematics solution, is now available for more vehicles than ever before. Sprint recently showcased Sprint Velocity at the Connected Car Expo, which is a specialty exhibition within the Los Angeles Auto Show (LAAS).
“With more than 14 million vehicles sold in the United States yearly, auto manufacturers are in a constant race to bring the newest, most versatile and technology-packed products to market,” said Ben Vos, Vice President and General Manager, Sprint Emerging Solutions. “Sprint Velocity makes it easier for automakers to win that race by offering the most advanced connected services available today, supported by unsurpassed telematics integration and consumer-focused resources that can translate into increased revenues and stronger customer loyalty.”
Sprint Velocity Connect is an expanded capability that supports additional hardware on the Sprint Velocity platform, including TCUs (Telematics Control Units), OBD-II (On-Board Diagnostic) devices and embedded in-dash head units. The Sprint Velocity platform enables this connectivity through its open, cloud-based architecture with standard machine-to-machine interfaces. As a result, Sprint can customise solutions to each manufacturer’s specific needs and then deploy those solutions either before or after a vehicle is sold. This ensures automakers can deploy connected services that conform to their exact specifications and are no longer limited to off-the-shelf solutions that may involve more or fewer features than they require.
With access to the Sprint Velocity platform, vehicle manufacturers can streamline the design and development process, simplify the integration of complex components, and simplify the management of ecosystem partners. Developed by Sprint’s award-winning IT team, Sprint Velocity Connect brings numerous additional benefits to auto manufacturers, including:
- flexibility to deliver telematics services; whether embedded, brought in phone, or a hybrid of both with Sprint Velocity Connect devices;
- elimination of multiple points of potential failure and reduction in the number of handoffs, while improving extensibility and scaling;
- reduced cost, complexity and cycle times.
In addition to these advantages, manufacturers have continued access to Sprint Velocity capabilities, such as subscription management, storefront, policy management and billing.
Sprint Velocity Connect opens the way for car manufacturers to explore innovative ways to serve their customers. Some potential applications could include:
- Fleet Management: vehicle manufacturers could help fleet operators easily adopt value-added services provided by the manufacturer at any time after the vehicles are purchased. This includes applications that track and monitor vehicle locations, improve dispatch and routing, evaluate driving behaviours, and more efficiently manage vehicle maintenance.
- Rental Car Features: rental car companies may be offered the opportunity to learn more about the status of their cars, such as distance travelled and vehicle maintenance needs.
- Dealership Sales: manufacturers could consider using Sprint Velocity Connect to add services for its dealership network, including new ways to differentiate previously owned vehicles with connected services.
As part of the expanded Sprint Velocity Connect capability, CalAmp is the first provider of an easy-to-install device that plugs directly into the standard vehicle interface. CalAmp is a leader in providing wireless communications solutions to a broad array of vertical market applications and customers. The CalAmp device will be able to access the power of the Sprint Velocity platform to deliver a variety of mobile services.
“We are pleased to be the first to integrate a device with Sprint Velocity Connect,” said Greg Gower, Senior Vice President and General Manager of CalAmp’s Mobile Resource Management business. “By having an economical, plug-and-play, full-featured vehicle monitoring and tracking device tap the power of the Sprint Velocity platform, we can extract valuable vehicle data to enable a variety of mobile services. CalAmp’s wireless location and messaging unit is an ideal solution for automotive insurance, driver behaviour management, auto rental, vehicle maintenance, warranty service, and other automotive applications that require direct access to vital vehicle performance data.”
