Your Next BMW Will Run on Verizon’s 5G Network

Verizon is now the telematics connectivity provider for new BMW, MINI, and other BMW Group vehicles built for the U.S. market, under a collaboration with KDDI announced today. The deal gives BMW Group vehicles direct cellular connectivity through Verizon’s 5G and LTE networks, replacing or supplementing prior telematics arrangements for cars built for U.S. roads. Every new BMW, MINI, and other BMW Group model manufactured for the American market is covered.

The connectivity itself runs through KDDI’s Global Communications Platform, which the Japanese carrier has built over two decades of work with automakers on connected car services. KDDI’s platform lets BMW Group manage its own connectivity and data packets rather than handing that control entirely to a carrier, while Verizon’s network carries the traffic.

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The BMW Group vehicles are also the first to run on Verizon’s nationwide 5G Standalone for Connected Vehicles offering, which uses a dedicated 5G core built to 3GPP Release 16 standards rather than piggybacking on 4G infrastructure. That distinction matters for automakers betting on over-the-air updates, real-time diagnostics, and remote features that need a network built for them rather than adapted to them.

Speaking to Light Reading, Daniel Lawson, senior vice president for global solutions at Verizon Business, said telematics under this deal covers firmware and map updates, subscription services, and everything else BMW tracks about the car’s health and the driver’s experience. He said the arrangement already covers “nearly” all new BMW Group production vehicles in the U.S. and “should be all” of them as the relationship with KDDI grows.

Verizon isn’t using network slicing for the BMW rollout yet, but Lawson said the move to 5G Standalone leaves that option open as the companies develop use cases that add value for BMW or its customers. T-Mobile made an earlier claim to the connected-car space, rolling out Magenta Drive for BMW’s iX and i4 electric vehicles in 2022, though that service handled in-car connectivity rather than telematics. Verizon’s largest existing connected-vehicle relationship is with Volkswagen Group, where it supplies connectivity across VW’s brands, most heavily on the Audi lineup.