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General Motors is cutting the cost of its OnStar 4G LTE data plans in half, saying increased customer usage has driven down the cost of engineering science in the 2 years since GM began offering a Wi-Fi hotspot within GM vehicles.

The monthly pricing is now 1GB for $10 per month (was $20), 4GB for $20 (new plan), 10GB for $40 (was $80), and 20GB over the course of one year for $150 (had been 10GB for $150). For vacationers or people taking the occasional long trip, there'southward a daily program: $5 a 24-hour interval for 250MB.

OnStar 4G LTE GMC Terrain: OnStar with 4G LTE is available on the 2022 GMC Terrain, letting customers connect to a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot that works not just in the vehicle, but at a nearby table as well.

Cheaper Wi-Fi builds customer loyalty

GM has been offering 4G LTE, which likewise powers its OnStar telecommunication service, across most of its line for nearly two years now. The Wi-Fi hotspot serves up to seven simultaneous devices, which is adequate except peradventure in an eight-passenger SUV when people have multiple phones and tablets running. Information technology's the just mainstream automaker with 4G LTE and Wi-Fi across the line.

The embedded connectedness lets the passengers scan the spider web and get improve connections than through a cellphone because of the roof-mounted antenna. Kids in back can watch movies, and parents upwards front demand to watch how quickly the information is used when Frozen, Minions and Zootopia are streamed back to back to back.

The always-available connection also lets GM offering services on which GM gets a cut: lookup and referrals to a coffee shop or lodging, fifty-fifty bookings done with Priceline. The remote unlock feature (via OnStar, non OnStar WiFi) means y'all tin can go out your motorcar at the drome or a parking lot with the key locked inside, and a family member or friend can retrieve the machine hands. An OnStar-equipped auto tin can track your driving habits and share information technology with your insurer, if yous choose, in hopes of getting lower rates. GM already has such a deal with Progressive Insurance.

Ford joins the party

Ford, in comparison, is only now getting into embedded cellular and telematics. It's been promoting Ford Sync since 2008, where the information connection was through the driver's cellphone. That fabricated sense was embedded telematics was costly; now the cost of an embedded device is estimated at $100-$200. Last year Ford announced Sync Connect with an embedded modem and WiFi hotspot would be offered on 8 2022 model Fords.

OnStar 4G LTE

Pickup, SUV owners employ the nearly data

Not surprisingly, the vehicles with the highest data usage patterns are pickup trucks that may be used for business concern out in the field, away from desktop PCs and fax machines, and SUVs with lots of seats, where information technology's likely the back seat occupants are streaming video or audio in addition to surfing the web.

GM says the nigh data is consumed by owners of the Chevrolet Silverado, followed past the Chevrolet Suburban SUV, then 2 more SUVs, the Chevrolet Tahoe and Chevrolet Traverse. It helps that Silverado is the 2d most popular vehicle sold in the US, backside just Ford F-150.

AT&T provides cellular link for OnStar, Wi-Fi

GM dropped Verizon as its cellular carrier in favor of AT&T in 2022. AT&T is the service provider currently for Audi, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, GMC, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche, and Volvo. While Verizon is generally the throughput and signal quality champion, and again the top choice in our sis site PCMag.com'south Fastest Mobile Networks 2022 testing, AT&T has been flexible on its rates offered to automakers. A family that uses AT&T as its cellphone mobile carrier can care for GM OnStar / Wi-Fi vehicles as an additional device on its calling plan.

European automakers take been fractional to AT&T in the past because it wanted to stick with the GSM protocol around the earth. So far, no automaker has offered to provide you with the aforementioned cellular service in its vehicles every bit yous currently have with your cellphones.