Cubic seals software deal with Australian telco giant
IRISH company Cubic Telecom has signed a memorandum of understanding for automotive connectivity services with Australian telecommunications company Telstra.
Cubic specialise in global connectivity solutions aimed at the locomotive industry.
The partnership will enable in-car access to a suite of infotainment apps and a Wi-Fi hotspot throughout Australia via Cubic’s integrated e-SIM and software platform.
This partnership with Telstra Wholesale is a significant step for Cubic Telecom which complements the company’s overall Asia-Pacific roll-out strategy.
“Car manufacturers were metal-pressed companies,” CEO Barry Napier said. “They are software companies — they don’t want to deal with 40, 50 suppliers around the world.
“We created a single point of contact. They can connect their car through one pane of glass. They can just connect in and see how their cars are working in Australia, the US and China.
“They don’t have to deal with different integration, different SIM cards, different billing agents.”
Yesterday, Cubic signed an MOU to launch initially with the Volkswagen group in Aus- tralia. The contract will see the company launch 200,000 cars in a three-year period for the VW group.
The partnership has been two years in the making.
“Telstra is a big engineering company so when a startup like us comes along we have to cut our mustard with them, show them under the hood, show them that we are very, very capable so we have been working with them for the last two years,” said Mr Napier.
The contract is believed to be worth €20m to €30m over the next three to four years.
Cubic, which is based in Sandyford in Dublin, made overall revenue of €15m and expects that figure to grow to more than €45m over the next two years.
The deal-signing ceremony formed part of the Government’s trade mission around Australia, led by President Higgins.
Enterprise Ireland CEO Julie Sinnamon, who attended the event, said: “This is a tremendous milestone for Cubic Telecom, a company that Enterprise Ireland has been supporting to achieve its global ambition.
“Irish companies are ranked as some of the leading innovative companies in the world and it’s this key competitive advantage that they bring to markets worldwide.”