In an interview, Marco Bijvelds, Vice President & Global Head of Tata Communications MOVE™, spoke with AutoEV Times on the growing complexity of connected vehicle ecosystems. He shared insights on why fragmented connectivity models fall short, how unified platforms can address regulatory compliance and performance challenges, and what OEMs must prioritise today to future-proof software-defined mobility across global and Indian markets.
Read the full interview here:
AET: Global OEMs often underestimate connectivity complexity. From your vantage point, what are the biggest challenges OEMs face when scaling connected vehicle services across multiple geographies?
Marco: Global OEMs often view connectivity as a technical layer, when in reality it is a structural challenge shaped by regulation, standards and scale. The real complexity emerges at the intersection of global standardisation and regional fragmentation.
One of the most significant challenges is achieving true global eSIM interoperability at competitive rates that scales with the growing data demand of vehicles. In its absence, OEMs are forced into fragmented integrations, region-specific profiles and complex roaming arrangements which undermine both the cost and operational benefits that eSIM is meant to deliver. To achieve this, OEMs are navigating a transition from widespread SGP.02/22 implementations to the newer SGP.32 IoT standard which is aimed to simplify and democratise connectivity. While this transition is clear on paper, executing this without disrupting vehicles in active use requires a non-intrusive, standards-based approach that equally supports legacy and next-generation systems, removing the burden of backward and forward compatibility from OEMs. Our eSIM Hub functions as an abstraction layer that unifies diverse eSIM technologies, providing a single, consistent technical interface to multiple eSIM solutions – irrespective of the vendor – across both the SGP.02 and SGP.32 standards.
Regulation adds another layer of complexity. A connected vehicle moving across borders does not just switch networks; it must comply with entirely different data residency, security and lawful interception requirements. Different markets, whether its India, China or the EU, each impose distinct constraints. Without intelligent, location-aware eSIM profile provisioning, OEMs risk either operational friction or regulatory exposure.
Finally, quality of service becomes difficult to guarantee at scale. Network conditions vary widely between dense urban environments and remote regions. Maintaining consistent performance across cellular and satellite networks requires real-time intelligence. Without that, OEMs are forced to compromise between experience and reliability.
AET: Fragmented, country-specific connectivity models are still common. Why do these approaches fall short in today’s connected and electric vehicle ecosystem?
Marco: Even as vehicles become smarter and more software‑defined, connectivity remains constrained by regional, country‑level models. This creates inefficiencies and limits the innovation potential of modern electric and connected vehicles.
The primary limitation is structural. Managing connectivity for individual countries forces OEMs into multiple vendor relationships, disparate compliance frameworks and disconnected billing systems. At scale, fragmentation undermines efficiency. We have seen this clearly in public infrastructure programmes, where consolidation becomes inevitable once fragmentation begins to slow down the adoption. Connected mobility follows the same logic.
With data spread across regions, organisations struggle to optimise costs or automate global updates. What should be a single, intelligent fleet turns into a patchwork of regional deployments.
With features being updated continuously, software-defined vehicles also invalidate static connectivity assumptions. Each update must remain compliant with local regulations, data policies and network requirements. Compliance must be embedded and validated dynamically within the connectivity platform itself.
Fragmentation also limits commercial upside. When connectivity is treated purely as infrastructure, OEMs miss opportunities around data intelligence, service differentiation and usage-based monetisation. Unified platforms enable capabilities such as split billing, fleet-wide analytics and intelligent routing that are simply not viable when systems are regionally isolated.
AET: There is a growing shift toward treating connectivity as a unified platform. How does a single-platform approach help OEMs address regulatory compliance, network performance, and scalability simultaneously?
Marco: A unified platform transforms connectivity from a set of fragmented regional operations into a global strategic layer. It centralises experience, configuration and billing, enabling superior visibility, control and operational agility. Furthermore, it accelerates market entry, drives AI‑led optimisation and reduces OEM cloud integration efforts.
The goal isn’t to pretend complexity doesn’t exist, but to start from intent, not connectivity management. OEMs define their performance, cost, security and compliance objectives, and the orchestration layer automatically manages the underlying complexity across networks, profiles, tariffs and connectivity modes, replacing static configuration with intelligence.
From a regulatory standpoint, the platform becomes inherently compliance-aware. Instead of OEMs manually interpreting telecom and data regulations market by market, the system detects the vehicle’s network environment and automatically provisions a locally compliant eSIM profile. Whether that means local data handling in India, GDPR-aligned processing in Europe, or domestic routing in China, compliance is enforced at the data layer. At Tata Communications, this intelligence is built into the platform through long-standing partnerships with local MNOs and, where required, dedicated infrastructure, allowing OEMs to scale into new geographies without repeating regulatory groundwork.
On network performance, intelligence replaces static configuration. Instead of relying on fixed network rules, the system now uses smart, real‑time decision-making. Vehicles operate across highly variable conditions, from dense urban 5G to remote coverage zones. Real-time network analytics allow the platform to dynamically manage quality of service, switching paths when latency or reliability degrades, and ensuring continuity for critical functions and over-the-air (OTA) updates.
Security strengthens significantly under a single-platform model. Fragmented regional stacks create inconsistent policies and larger attack surfaces. On the other hand, a unified architecture centralises policy enforcement, embeds security controls at the platform layer and ensures uniform protection across markets and connectivity modes.
Scalability in modern mobility is an architectural decision, built on a cloud‑native foundation. Tata Communications MOVE™ platform is elastic by default and scales as OEM fleets grow from early deployments to millions of vehicles. At the same time, it addresses regional data‑sovereignty needs through flexible hybrid and on‑premise deployment models. The result is a unified, globally consistent operating layer delivered through a single platform and a single commercial framework.
AET: Tata Communications works across diverse markets and network environments. What key lessons have emerged from deploying connected vehicle solutions across regions with vastly different infrastructure maturity?
Marco: Operating in regions with widely varying digital ecosystems has highlighted one core truth: a robust vehicle connectivity platform must be built to perform reliably at both ends of the spectrum. In practice, this means building systems that handle high‑density and high‑bandwidth environments just as effectively as areas with limited coverage or legacy networks.
In markets like India, for example, infrastructure maturity is highly uneven. Dense urban clusters benefit from advanced cellular networks, while large geographies in smaller towns and villages still rely on legacy coverage or satellite. A connected vehicle cannot optimise for one environment and ignore the other. At Tata Communications, this has driven a unified architecture where cellular and satellite connectivity are abstracted into a single control layer, allowing vehicles to operate consistently regardless of local network maturity.
The second lesson is that regulatory compliance cannot follow a single global template. Different regions prioritise different outcomes – while India emphasises data localisation, the US drives privacy and cybersecurity through state‑led regimes. Rather than adapting a single global model, we embed compliance as region-specific strategy, supported by our deep local partnerships. This ensures vehicles remain compliant by design.
Pre-deployment testing has also proven essential. Validating network behaviour, latency and regulatory configurations through virtual SIM environments before launch reduces risk and accelerates rollout. Deploying an end to end solution actually means supporting a program over a period of time – across development, integration, testing and rollout phases – working with multiple teams within the OEM ecosystem which requires programmatic approach and strong governance.
Finally, flexibility in commercial and connectivity models matters. Tata Communications’ flexible commercial models, such as usage-based pricing, lifecycle-aligned cost structures and regional cost optimisation, allow OEMs to better align connectivity spend with revenue returns over the vehicle’s lifetime.
AET: India is rapidly emerging as a major hub for connected and electric mobility. How ready is the Indian ecosystem today in terms of networks, policy and OEM adoption to support connected vehicles at scale?
Marco: India’s connected mobility ecosystem is progressing strongly. Policy shifts are equally enabling, as India adapts regulations to support global ambitions. For example, allowing international connectivity for vehicle testing – signalling alignment with large‑scale global rollout needs. At the same time, major OEMs are adopting standardised connected platforms and OTA frameworks, positioning India as a showcase market for next‑generation software‑defined mobility.
However, the level of readiness varies significantly across the landscape. This becomes a critical consideration for OEMs planning to scale consistently and efficiently.
