Telecom operators’ global revenue from the connectivity and other basic value-added services from connected car (automotive, transport and logistics) segment will more than triple to $16.9 billion in 2018 from 2013, said an Infonetics Research report.

The connected car services market is growing at a 2013–2018 compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 percent, nearly 21 times the growth rate expected for traditional mobile voice and data services during the same time period

The report said 3G and 4G technologies are paving the way for improved interactivity, video, real-time analytics, and other smart apps in the connected car space—and thus a greater probability for service adoption.

According to Infonetics Research, LTE 4G will be the fastest-growing cellular technology in cars, expanding 135 percent annually between 2014 and 2018. A major boon will come from AT&T’s agreement with GM to deploy LTE for the OnStar service.

The report also noted that partnerships between M2M service providers such as AT&T and China Mobile are improving with automotive brands including GM, BMW, and Tesla which are making significant investments in connected car programs to differentiate themselves.

Some service providers are seeing as much as 90 percent of their machine-to-machine (M2M) revenue generated from the connected car segment.

North America is the foundation of the global connected car business, accounting for 37 percent of global service revenue in 2013; Europe and Asia will be fast-growing regions.

With sizeable auto markets and large land areas, countries like the U.S. and China are ideal for connected vehicle services.