Posted on 12/22/2007 10:09:48 AM PST by Cagey
Some car owners and other users of General Motors' OnStar service may find themselves in trouble this February, the Associated Press notes. As of February 18th, the FCC will allow GM to halt the analog version of OnStar, in a bid to make its network all-digital. The difficulty is that while the approximately one million OnStar cellphones can be replaced, some cars built as late as 2005 can only access OnStar via analog signals, and have no support for GM's $15 digital upgrade. Meanwhile, some home alarm systems with OnStar must default to a backup connection without analog.
OnStar service is actually set to stop before the signals do, with the turn of the new year. This has caused some consternation, as while OnStar began warning its customers through its website in 2006 -- and directly, in recent months -- people have been left scrambling to find alternatives, particularly as the network's digital coverage is still smaller.
The OnStar closure is part of a larger trend though, as the FCC is allowing shutdown for conventional analog cellular services as well. Alltel, Verizon and AT&T will all phase out analog in 2008, Alltel finishing as late as September. The only analog networks likely to remain intact will be local ones, generally those that serve rural regions where bigger companies have not invested.
Better written story than the one that was posted yesterday.
Out of “good faith,” they need to replace the out-dated systems.
It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
I figure it’s foolish to buy any electronic gizmo that’s built into a car like this. We have cars going for 10 or 15 years while this other stuff is outdated in 6 months. Anybody know where I can get my 8-track tape player fixed?
They got the $15 conversion or whatever $$$ it was.
I can't remember what they were complaining about, other than a new number to hand out to a handful of people.
I didn't realize that the digital coverage was limited, though.
BUMP!
> I figure it’s foolish to buy any electronic gizmo
> that’s built into a car like this.
Sometimes it’s unavoidable. We bought a new pickup off
the lot this year, and it had XM. We let the intro
subscription expire, and ignore the begging letters
(and phone calls!) for renewal.
Now that Sirius and XM have merged (I hear), I expect
we’ll eventually get some offer to upgrade the hardware
to some merged design with enhanced DRM infestation.
Most of media is relentless propaganda.
I can’t see paying for that.
The 2008 analog sunset has been discussed and delayed for years. It is a good thing. Less than .5% of cell phone calls are on the analog network - and most of those are digital phones handing down to analog.
GM dealership, $15.00 for new chip to be installed, renew subscription for the next year, presto all done.
Any idea about how to find out if someone’s cell phone is analog or digital? A friend has called me about this news tonight. Thanks.
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