A number of companies already are considering the potential of next-generation mobile networks, including 5G, to connect vehicles. Many believe the connected car will go the way of the mobile ecosystem, particularly for software downloads and updates.

“When you look at the vehicle being connected to the cloud, whether to be able to do over-the-air (OTA) updates, upload diagnostic data from the vehicle, or infotainment streaming down media to the car — it’s going to do the same things we are doing on phones today,” said Richard Barrett, senior product marketing engineer, automotive wireless technology at Cypress Semiconductor. “It’s OTA updates you’re doing on your iPhones. Everybody is getting rid of storage, and everything is coming from the cloud. The DVD is going to go the way of the cassette desk. The large memory storage that you have inside the vehicle is going to go away, as well, at least for storing media, because you’re going to pull it down from the cloud just like you do with your mobile device.”