The dream of the connected car has been slow to materialize. The infrastructure around us hasn't installed sensors and access points fast enough, unless you're lucky enough to live in Las Vegas. Street lights, stop signs, road barriers – they are all just as disconnected as they were 30 to 40 years ago in most areas. Meanwhile, cars have become increasingly connected, but not with each other. These days, almost all new makes and models offer some form of connectivity, mostly for entertainment purposes (aka watching movies on long drives).
(Image credit: Nissan) And speeds have improved with 4G LTE access, sometimes operating at 20 Mbps in some regions or even faster. A mobile and mobile hotpot is a smart innovation that could lead us to more connected services. It's smart enough to ask me what the current state of this connectivity is, how fast it works, and whether it's reliable enough for the next era of more connectivity (and 5G service).
Easy streaming
I torched the hot spot on a 2020 Nissan Titan recently, only to find out. In a remote area, keeping some usage on my own smartphone and parked on the side of the road, I went online using an Apple iPad and got a few handed one to a passenger in the back. In modern vehicles, 4G LTE service is common: in the Titan, you can expect to connect at speeds fast enough to watch a movie on Netflix. The hotspot is easy to find on the main screen, and for those of us who limit our usage to ensure we don't get surcharges, this can be an incredible benefit on a long drive or while waiting in the parking lot at Trader Joe's.
(Image credit: Nissan) Nissan requires you to log into a portal in your browser to get started, and the costs are quite reasonable, at least compared to home Internet service in some areas. You pay €20 (around £15, AU$30) per month for 1 GB of access; for 5 GB of bandwidth per month, it's €60 (about $45, AU$85) per month. The main advantage here is that you don't need a phone in the truck or an access point. You don't have to "provide" the service with your own device, so it's always available to anyone who jumps on the truck. During my tests, the service was reliable and fast even when I was driving in the city. There is no problem with Wi-Fi not working because you are inside a building or too many people are connected.
Strong and stable
One thing I did notice about 4G LTE service in cars: It's reliable enough that I don't experience any stutters or pauses. Maybe the Titan acts as a massive antenna (I'm assuming the antenna is built into the roof, but that's not being released to the public as close as I know). It is encouraging because I know what will follow.
(Image credit: Nissan) 5G service will be faster, more reliable, more widespread and less susceptible to interference. One day, 5G sensors and access points will be installed on roads, exits, bridges and other cars, forming a massive 5G network infrastructure. The fact that 4G LTE performance is consistent is a good sign that cars will be able to handle this next step. When will this happen? My guess is that it will be sooner rather than later. 5G is making headlines, and is likely to roll out quickly in 2020, so automakers are likely to embrace new services. It's here to stay, too: This is an opportunity for cities to move forward with a network standard that they know won't be superseded or superseded anytime soon. We hope.
(Image credit: Nissan) On the road is TechRadar's regular look at the futuristic technology of today's most popular cars. John Brandon, a journalist who has written about cars for 12 years, puts a new car and its cutting-edge technology to the test every week. One goal: discover what new technologies will lead us to fully autonomous cars.