Next Generation Telematics Protocol (NGTP)

Reasons for Developing NGTP

Historically, vehicle manufacturers have offered customers proprietary services and have been dependent on a single TSP for delivery of these services in a specific market. This supply chain inflexibility made it difficult for providers to gain economies of scale and advance their offerings.

A more open and standardized approach to delivering services has clear benefits for the marketplace, but previous standardization efforts focused on replacing existing protocols, rather than integrating them, which met barriers to adoption.

With the proliferation of new technologies (e.g., UMTS, WiFi, VoIP), it is likely that future in-vehicle devices will access services using multiple methods and technologies.  BMW and its partners concluded that the telematics industry would greatly benefit from a technology-neutral protocol to expand the options for delivering services.

BMW, Connexis, and WirelessCar have brought their considerable experience together to develop a new protocol, NGTP, based on a standardized and highly flexible infrastructure.

The NGTP Solution – Open and Adaptable Connectivity

NGTP is a new approach for delivering over-the-air services to in-vehicle devices and hand sets alike, with the focus on open interfaces across the entire service delivery chain.

 NGTP’s developers set the following six objectives:

•     Provide a technology-neutral protocol and consistent user interface for telematics services;
•     Reduce barriers to collaboration and implementation;
•     Enable adoption of new technologies as they come online;
•     Support legacy systems for connectivity throughout the service life of a vehicle;
•     Gain wide acceptance and encourage innovation through an open approach;
•     Increase the value proposition for vehicle manufacturers, service providers, content providers, and motorists.

NGTP will enable vehicle manufacturers to use the best offerings from a variety of partners while maintaining a consistent driver experience. The new protocol will also allow TSPs and content providers to sell the same services to multiple vehicle manufacturers. Moreover, NGTP will support legacy systems, allowing older and newer vehicles alike to access new telematics offerings.

NGTP accommodates the EU’s pending eCall initiative, and the protocol’s open architecture will accommodate future industry trends.

In order to foster collaboration and innovation, the specifications that constitute NGTP will be made public under a Creative Commons licence. BMW and its partners will work with the telematics community to communicate the specifications and support testing and potential adoption of NGTP.

NGTP’s Infrastructure

 The protocol has three main segments. The key component is a technology-neutral intermediary called the dispatcher, which connects the vehicle’s telematics unit (TU) to telematics service providers (TSPs).

Figure 1: The Dispatcher – NGTP’s “Killer App”

NGTP’s dispatcher provides vehicles with a seamless link to TSPs by performing the following functions:

• Receiving requests from the vehicle TU,
• Accessing the vehicle manufacturer’s customer and configuration databases in order to route requests to the appropriate TSP, and
• Forwarding the TSP’s voice and data traffic back to the vehicle.

Figure 2: How NGTP Facilitates Flexibility

• The dispatcher provides the customer interface, allowing vehicle manufacturers to offer new services without reconfiguring the vehicle.
• Separate and open interfaces connect the TSP to call centers, content providers, and public safety answering points (PSAPs), allowing providers to be interchanged as the market demands.
• Proprietary customer data resides within the vehicle manufacturer’s customer relationship management (CRM) system.

Where to Find Out More about NGTP

Technical specifications on NGTP are publicly available at www.ngtp.org. The website also provides information on the publicly Creative Commons licence and contact information for questions about NGTP.

About NGTP’s Developers

BMW, headquartered in Munich, has provided telematics services to its vehicles since 1997.  The company’s services include Emergency Call, Breakdown Call, Concierge Service, Traffic Information, Google Send2Car, and the BMW Online telematics services portal.  BMW is committed to implementing NGTP as its next generation telematics protocol in future vehicles.  www.bmwconnecteddrive.com

Connexis works with vehicle manufacturers worldwide to deliver superior, cost-effective telematics services through long-term partnerships.  Our end-to-end capabilities include protocol conversion and data routing, call centers, and connections to content providers.  Drawing on the capabilities of our sister company SEI, a global provider of customized call center services, Connexis offers vehicle manufacturers many of the functions needed for a complete and flexible telematics solution. www.connexis.com

WirelessCar, based in Gothenburg, Sweden, is one of the world’s leading telematics service providers, serving the automotive and commercial vehicle sectors in 33 countries.  WirelessCar provides vehicle manufacturers with complete telematics services anywhere in the world.  WirelessCar is part of Volvo Information Technology and operates as an independent entity addressing all vehicle manufacturers. www.wirelesscar.com