Abstract
Cars are contributing to communications probably as much as telecommunications themselves. However, the two have been walking separate paths. In these last decades there have been some shy crossing of each other path; in this decade the crossing will happen more frequently and possibly by the end of it we might start to see them overlapping to a considerable extent. By 2010 teleporting will still be beyond reach but cars may start to appear as communicating entities themselves, they may act as communication environment for their passengers and for the goods being transported, they may be containers shuttling information as if they were optical fibres, they may be managed as packets on an internet network; they may even become, as a whole, a telecommunication network providing telecommunication services. Technological evolution is paving the way towards this enhanced role of cars. Will the market be receptive, will this turn out to be a challenge or an opportunity for the telecommunications and automotive industry?
What are the hurdles laying ahead, is there going to be a winner who takes all? Difficult questions that we are not daring to answer although some of the elements outlined in this paper may steer thoughts and stimulate ideas. In the end, by suggesting some potential scenarios, we hope to get our industries to play a leading role in the evolution rather than sitting in a fence defending their present position.