As a director at T-Systems, Deutsche Telekom's corporate customers arm, Anette Bronder's responsibilities include the Connected Mobility area. Three questions for Anette Bronder.
What does the world of mobility have in store for us?
Anette Bronder: Digitization will redefine our concept of mobility: for instance, the way we choose a suitable mode of transport, how we navigate, or what we do while driving. Connected parking, personalized mobility offerings, or smart traffic control systems are only the beginning. In ten to fifteen years, we'll be talking less about autonomous driving because we'll actually be experiencing it on our streets. One thing is certain: cities have the greatest potential for change because a growing number of people continue to migrate to our cities. Demands on intelligent traffic control and guidance systems and customized, environmentally-friendly mobility solutions continue to rise. At the same time, public pressure too is steadily growing. People want digital services that make life simpler and safer. Cities can no longer afford chronically congested streets or bad air. Digitization will become a decisive competitive factor on the market and mobility will play a key role.
How does the car contribute to this new world of mobility?
Anette Bronder: Cars still have a high priority in our society: according to the Forsa institute, nine out of ten German car owners simply cannot give up the idea of owning a car. Nonetheless, to allow us to choose a suitable mode of transport depending on the situation, future cars will have to be well connected to their environment. For carmakers, this would imply evolving from hardware manufacturers into mobility service providers. This will require breaking new ground and developing holistic connected mobility concepts.
How can the automotive industry bring about this change?
Anette Bronder: The main thing is to forget competitive rivalry. After all, smart parking or autonomous driving solutions can only work if all cars and their surroundings speak the same language. Furthermore, we need proper regulations, data protection and privacy, sophisticated vehicle sensor technologies and a solid infrastructure including connectivity solutions and, cloud platforms. This is why carmakers, technology companies and the public sector must work closely together to jointly develop and promote digital solutions. We can already observe good initial strategies in this direction: for instance, the 5G Automotive Association and the European Automotive Telecom Alliance, in which, apart from automotive companies, Deutsche Telekom too is deeply involved.