GM Offers In-Vehicle 4G LTE Connectivity
General Motors (GM) has announced that it will offer an in-vehicle 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot with data included at a relatively low monthly rate. This will make it easier for drivers to access streaming audio content and potentially reduce use of conventional radio broadcasts.
"Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac will be the first vehicle brands to market with 4G LTE connectivity offered on such a broad scale, and we’re excited to give millions of customers an opportunity to explore the technology without paying extra for a data plan for three months or three gigabytes," said Mary Chan, OnStar president. "Later this year, we will begin to offer data plans and our customers will be able to connect for as little as $5 per month."
The low rate will apply to drivers who subscribe to OnStar "Safe and Sound" or "Directions and Connections" plans. For an extra $5 per month they will get 200 megabytes of data. The GM announcement said this would be enough to stream 6.5 hours of music or 13 hours of web browsing according to AT&T's data usage calculator.
Plans for OnStar customers not subscribed to advisor-based services will start at $10 per month. The announcement said one GB/month data plans would cost subscribers $15 and non-subscribers would be charged $20. Plans for as much as five GB per month are available, as well as discounted bundles with other services.
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Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack. A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.