OnStar could go black for millions of analog subscribers in '08

If you just so happened to pick up a 2004 (or earlier) year model GM vehicle will waiting for that oh-so-tempting self-driving edition to land in '08, and can't wait to take full advantage of the svelte built-in OnStar system, you better start now. When analog networks have the option to go silent in 2008, vehicles equipped with analog-only hardware will not be able to communicate with those friendly voices on the other end of the blue button, which could leave some (previously) loyal GM customers seeing red. All vehicles kitted prior to 2002 will unfortunately not sport the same sense of security it once did, while select vehicles from 2002 to 2004 can be upgraded with digital equipment. Verizon Wireless -- the current network of choice for OnStar -- "has not said how or when it will dismantle its analog network," but will likely pull plugs in stages. While the value of OnStar's service is certainly debatable, leaving a substantial amount of your four million customers without a resolution certainly doesn't bode well if you're looking to snag repeat buyers, but we suppose it's the price you pay for keepin' things fresh.

[Via Autoblog]

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 22nd 2006 6:19PM]

So why not go GSM and bring back car phones... the bentley's got the SIM card adapter. If this Idea takes I want the money.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 23rd 2006 1:51PM]

This is a bad idea for the government to shut down analog. I know from experience that my 2001 suburban can pick up in lots of out of the way places that my verizon phones can't. Yes analog is not as efficient, but it works better for those emergency calls.

What does the government want the analog spectrum for anyway? I bet it ends up costing us (the taxpayers) many millions.

After all this is the government that bailed out Nextel to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars (read: that means we paid for it) to buy part of their spectrum so that there would be no interference with emergency services (how did the fcc miss that in the first place?)

[(Unverified) Posted Dec 6th 2006 2:32AM]

lexus link will die too... the dealer keeps wanting to take it out of my car. lexuslink uses the onstar system.