OREANDA-NEWS. Ford and AT&T are bringing high-speed connectivity and an even better owner experience to customers this year – with plans to connect more than 10 million customers to Ford SYNC® Connect within the next five years.

SYNC Connect, Ford’s new high-speed connectivity technology, adds levels of convenience to SYNC, the industry-leading in-car entertainment and communications system. Ford is introducing SYNC Connect in the United States and Canada this spring in the new Escape.

“Vehicle owners want the convenience that comes with being connected at home and on the go,” said Raj Nair, Ford executive vice president, Global Product Development and chief technical officer. “With SYNC Connect, we are able to provide features and services that make the car an even more seamless part of our customers’ connected lifestyles.”

With Ford SYNC Connect, Ford vehicle owners can:

  • Remotely lock and unlock doors from virtually anywhere
  • Use the built-in GPS system to locate their parked vehicle on a map
  • Remotely start the vehicle or schedule a start time
  • View vehicle information, including fuel and battery level and tire pressure readings

SYNC Connect plays a key role in Ford’s connectivity strategy as part of Ford Smart Mobility, the plan to take Ford to the next level in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience, and data and analytics.

SYNC Connect debuts this spring on the new Ford Escape. After the initial rollout in North America, SYNC Connect is launching in global markets, adding another 10 million connected vehicles by 2020.

“Connected car services are an important feature to consumers,” said Chris Penrose, senior vice president, Internet of Things, AT&T Mobility. “We’re thrilled to expand our relationship with Ford to deliver an enhanced connected experience to more Ford drivers.”

Ford SYNC

Ford SYNC is the world’s leading in-car entertainment and communications system, with more than 15 million vehicles equipped with the technology on the road worldwide.

Launched in 2007, Ford SYNC was the industry’s first system to widely and most affordably offer voice-activated technology to control smartphones. New-generation SYNC 3 features faster performance, more conversational voice recognition, a smartphone-like touch screen and easier-to-understand graphical interface for a growing number of Ford vehicles in North America.

Building on industry leadership

Ford was the first U.S.-based automaker to build AT&T network service into its cars in 2011 with the introduction of MyFord® Mobile – a smartphone and Web-based connected experience that enables electric vehicle owners to remotely connect their smartphone with the car to manage charging.

AT&T network service has been a standard feature in all Ford plug-in electric vehicles, including Ford Focus Electric, Fusion Energi and C-MAX Energi.

In 2014, Lincoln introduced MyLincoln Mobile powered by AT&T, enabling owners to access their vehicles using their smartphone. The capability allows owners to start, lock, unlock and locate their vehicle, as well as schedule remote starts.

Now, SYNC Connect expands on the relationship between Ford and AT&T, giving more North American customers the ability to remotely access their vehicles.

AT&T connected car leadership

In 2014, AT&T launched two major initiatives to lead innovation in the connected car space. The first was a pioneering connected car innovation center in Atlanta, called AT&T Drive Studio.

It also launched a new global automotive solution and development platform, AT&T Drive.

A telematics leader, AT&T connects vehicles around the globe. In late 2015, AT&T added 1.6 million connected devices; nearly 1 million were connected cars.

Additionally, AT&T was the first major wireless carrier to launch a global SIM platform for cars. The platform lets automotive, consumer and M2M equipment makers use a single carrier to wirelessly connect products across the globe.