Deutsche Telekom and China Mobile to sign 'connected cars' deal

The logo of German company Deutsche Telekom is pictured at the CeBit computer fair in this file photo taken in Hanover, March 6, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

Deutsche Telekom and China Mobile  will sign a deal on Friday to create a platform for so-called connected cars in China, a Deutsche Telekom spokesman said on Thursday.

The two companies will form a joint venture in which the German telecoms group will bring its technology for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, while China Mobile will provide the network.

Deutsche did not provide further detail and is due to make an announcement on Friday, though German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung quoted management board member Reinhard Clemens as saying that the company's investment would be in the double-digit millions.

Telecoms and technology companies are looking to tap an expected surge in demand for M2M communications via the Internet to enable products from cars and washing machines to turbines and medical equipment to carry out more tasks more efficiently.

Cars are at the forefront of the new industry, with manufacturers striving to add new features to their vehicles, such as music streaming, audio books, navigation aids and security improvements.

The market for such technology is expected to be worth $20 billion a year by 2018, against $8 billion last year, according to telecoms research company Juniper.

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