A connected car is a car that can communicate bidirectionally with other systems outside of the car. This connectivity can be used to provide services to passengers (such as music, identification of local businesses, and navigation) or to support or enhance self-driving functionality (such as coordination with other cars, receiving software updates, or integration into a ride hailing service). For safety-critical applications, it is anticipated that cars will also be connected using dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) or cellular radios, operating in the FCC-granted 5.9 GHz band with very low latency.
