Luxury car maker Bentley and US communications company Viasat have partnered for the launch of a secure, high-speed in-car Wi-Fi system that will turn vehicles into “executive offices on the move”.
Bentley Advanced Connectivity Wi-Fi will allow drivers and passengers of the luxury marque to access simultaneous entertainment and business applications, while travelling at 70mph speeds.
It will become available on all Bentley models from 2019.
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Bentleys will come with a router that connects to an on-board power supply, with the router antenna placed inside the boot lid and connection secured by VPN.
The system aggregates up to three mobile network operators on one signal.
“All data transferred with Bentley Advanced Connectivity is divided up and transmitted over three mobile networks, then reconsolidated on arrival,” Bentley said.
“This means that if one SIM card is compromised, any data stolen is meaningless – because it represents only part of the scrambled data package.”
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The system will give access to video conferencing on “Bentley Skype for Business” and allow passengers to access and edit files on the go.
Advanced Connectivity will be accessible via an accompanying app, which monitors network usage and lets the driver choose to authorise or bar users from the car’s mobile network.
Viasat’s Active Cyber Defence system also protects from data theft and ransomware attacks. Advanced Connectivity was announced last week, and is available now on Bentley’s Mulsanne range before it comes to all Bentleys next year.
Bentley said it will be the only car maker with access to the technology for at least 12 months.
Bentley has a range of accompanying mobile options for its cars; drivers and passengers can control on-board climate, entertainment, and seat options via mobile devices, including Apple Watch.
The company has also piloted Bentley on Demand, which when rolled out will let Bentley owners request a different Bentley model for “special occasions”.
