The two haven't provided specific goals or long-term roadmaps. They did, however, draw attention to a previous partnership in 2017 that tested LTE-V, a 4G data variant optimized for fast-moving vehicles. It gave drivers real-time traffic info through connections to traffic light systems and intersection video cameras. The project is expected to move forward in September with a "broader range" of uses.

Audi's team-up comes relatively soon after it unveiled plans to use Android, and alongside long-running cooperation with NVIDIA on everything from self-driving cars through to infotainment systems. It's expecting a future where cars are perpetually online, and it wants to be ready when that happens. We wouldn't call that an outlandish expectation -- many cars already have optional or even standard cellular data, and driverless models may need data access to both talk to other vehicles and operate when there's no one inside.