The Car Connectivity Consortium Holds Plugfest to Drive Digital Key Progress by Further Testing Ultra-Wideband and Bluetooth Low Energy Technologies

Published in Business Wire on July 22, 2024.

The organization will be joined by Google, Ellisys, Qualcomm, Thales, COMPRION, DEKRA, BMW Group, and other major automakers as it works to drive technical performance and build momentum into CCC Digital Key Certification Program expansion.

BEAVERTON, Ore., July 22.  The Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC), a cross-industry organization dedicated to advancing vehicle-to-device connectivity solutions, announced today it is gathering in Hillsboro, Oregon, alongside major device makers, automotive manufacturers, and technology companies to further CCC Digital Key™ interoperability testing, with a strong focus on ultra-wideband (UWB) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). This will be the tenth Plugfest for the CCC, and the organization will be joined by members Google, Ellisys, Qualcomm, Thales, COMPRION, DEKRA, BMW Group, and other major automakers as they work to realize the full potential of the CCC Digital Key specification, which incorporates UWB and BLE on top of the existing near-field communication (NFC) capabilities.

This event comes on the heels of the CCC’s announcement that BMW Group and NXP® Semiconductors’ respective digital key products were the first manufacturers to receive CCC Digital Key Certification. The current certification program currently focuses on NFC and designates that a product meets the CCC’s highest requirements for secure and interoperable vehicle-to-device access. As the certification program is expected to expand to include BLE, which enables remote command, and UWB with BLE, which provides full passive entry capabilities, later this year, the work done at this week’s Plugfest is imperative to drive continued progress.

“Certifying two manufacturers at different parts of the digital key ecosystem for the NFC components of their digital key products was a major milestone for the CCC Digital Key Certification Program,” said Alysia Johnson, President of the CCC. “We know that the most complete digital key solutions will incorporate NFC, BLE, and UWB technologies, among others, so we’re proud to continue our work as a broader membership to make this possible.”

New research from Technavio reported that the automotive digital market is expected to grow by $891M between 2024 and 2028. The report notes that the development of standardized digital key protocols will contribute to this significant expansion. Alongside its members, the CCC will focus on supporting these efforts this week as it continues to further refine the CCC Digital Key applications, enhancing implementations, specifications, test suites, and tools, and deliver performance without compromise.

The next CCC Plugfest will be held October 7-11 in San Jose, CA and will be hosted by Google. To learn more about the CCC, please visit our website.