General Motors will start offering 4G LTE wireless service in calendar 2014 on many cars, trucks and cross over vehicles.
The service will be provided through OnStar in conjunction with AT&T, and it will be directly integrated in the car’s electrical system and include an external antenna so customers would not need their smartphones.
Gartner industry analyst Thilo Koslowski called GM’s announcement “a big deal” because GM wants “to actually have embedded connectivity in their connected vehicles rather than relying on a mobile phone going forward, that’s a pretty big shift in terms of where other vehicle manufacturers are today,” reported Bloomberg.
The first GM models to get 4G LTE will be most 2015 model year Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac models available in 2014 in the U.S. and Canada.
Since 4G is 10X faster than 3G and allows simultaneous voice and data connections, OnStar is expected to add new services. These might include WiFi hot spots, streaming video in back seat entertainment and real-time updates.
GM’s Mary Chan, President of Global Connected Consumer, said GM plans to offer 4G in all of its vehicles, reported Bloomberg.
The only other vehicle we know of with truly embedded wireless service presently is the Tesla S. (A few other vehicle makers offer wireless provisions through a sim card or USB drive).
No pricing was offered for the 4G service.
Source: General Motors via Bloomberg
