3 ways AT&T wants to cash in on connected cars - Fortune

That’s an impressive feat in a saturated phone market – until you realize that most of those subscriptions aren’t for phones at all, but instead for tablets and 1 million “connected cars. On an earnings call Thursday afternoon, the company set out three car-related revenue streams it hopes to tap:. 1) Selling data and marketing information to car makers. While most people likely associate “connected cars” with information that flows to an automobile, a lot of it actually goes the other way. According to an AT&T executive, the company will provide car manufacturers and dealers with large pools of data from fleets of cars, including map updates and other driving-related information. On the call, an executive talked up the potential for cars to fit into what is called its “Mobile Share Value Plan” and its “connected life strategy. ” The prospect of extending a phone data plan to a car may prove tempting to many, and could provide a new way to hold on to existing subscribers. The AT&T executive added that the company saw “prepaid opportunities” for people who wanted temporary internet access in a vehicle that didn’t already have it. Presumably this would apply to situations like rental cars or, as can be the case with. Source: fortune.com