Enterprise Ireland-backed Cubic Telecom in new deal with Volkswagen

Cubic Telecom CEO Barry Napier

Ellie Donnelly

Irish company Cubic Telecom, which connects cars and computers to mobile networks, has entered a new agreement with car giant Volkswagen.

Under the agreement, which is believed to be worth in the region of €80m, Cubic Telecom will see its technology used in the all-new Volkswagen Touareg for its connected car experience.

"We have enjoyed a close working partnership with Volkswagen and we are delighted that they chose Cubic as the data delivery platform of the new Volkswagen Touareg," Barry Napier, Cubic Telecom CEO, said.

"We look forward to continued collaboration and expanding on the next generation Volkswagen models sold in countries around the world."

Cubic Telecom’s technology will manage data delivery throughout Europe to enable Car-Net online services in the cars.

Services enabled via Cubic’s data platform include navigation, mapping and map updates, route guidance, news, traffic info and weather, fuel and parking info, and other Volkswagen connectivity solutions such as Wi-Fi hotspot and internet radio streaming.

Owners of the Touareg car will have the ability to use high-speed data connectivity for their own devices including iPads and smartphones, with access to in-car bundled data plans and their preferred content, a statement from Cubic Telecom said.

The Sandyford-headquartered company’s technology is preloaded into cars at the manufacturing stage, and the company works closely with Volkswagen to enable and improve key services and local content via split billing and location-based usage.

"Cubic Telecom has established a reputation as one of the true pioneers in software-enabled in-car data connectivity, and we know our customers will be delighted with the experience" Alf Pollex, technical development manager at Volkswagen, said.

Headquartered in Sandyford, where it employs over 100 people, Cubic customers include Audi, Volkswagen, HP, Lenovo, Panasonic, Qualcomm and Woolworths.

The company is privately held with over €75m in funding by Audi Electronics Venture GmbH, Qualcomm, Valid, Enterprise Ireland and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, among others.