Funding, Member State Adoption Remain Obstacles
BOSTON--(Business Wire)--
The implementation of the eCall mandate, while underpinned by good intentions,
is fundamentally flawed, according to the Strategy Analytics Wireless Enterprise
Strategies report, "eCall Gets the Green Light: But It's Bad News for Wireless
Carriers and Automakers." Neither vehicle makers nor wireless carriers will
benefit from eCall.
If car makers fail to make the required application available on a voluntary
basis by 2012, the EU will mandate the availability of the eCall system as early
as January 1, 2014. Moreover, the use of the voice channel, while meeting
primary needs, will limit the ability of suppliers to add services at low cost.
The problem is that the eCall mandate specifies the technology required for
eCall, even though at least four European car makers have introduced their own
connected safety systems.
"It is hard to argue the virtue of saving lives and speeding assistance to crash
victims. But in a free market, the value of such a system or service, if
demonstrable or self-evident, should not require a mandate and should not be
free. It is unfortunate that the European Commission could not simply have
mandated the eCall system without mandating the technology," commented Andrew
Brown, Director of Wireless Enterprise and co-author of the report.
"Each attempt by the European Commission to create more clarity on eCall
inevitably creates more confusion and delay," said Roger C. Lanctot, Senior
Analyst for the Global Automotive Practice at Strategy Analytics. "A funding
measure for service providers is still necessary to make this a reality, and
some member states will never sign on."
About Strategy Analytics
Strategy Analytics, Inc. provides timely and actionable market intelligence
focused on opportunities and disruptive forces in the areas of Automotive
Electronics and Entertainment, Broadband Connected Home, Mobile & Wireless
Intelligent Systems and Virtual Worlds. Headquartered in Boston, MA, with
offices in the UK, France, Germany, Japan, S. Korea and China, Strategy
Analytics works with clients through annual multi-client services, management
team workshops and custom consulting engagements. For more information, please
visit http://www.strategyanalytics.com/.
Strategy Analytics, Inc.
US Contact:
Andrew Brown, +44 1908 423600 x630
ABrown@strategyanalytics.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009
