Starting in the summer, Chevrolet will begin offering LTE data connection speeds on their OnStar-equipped vehicles. This increased data speed will allow drivers to access more information, personalize their in-car experience, and even offer wireless hotspotting capabilities. It will be one of the broadest LTE rollouts in the automotive industry.
Chevrolet will begin offering LTE speeds with OnStar starting in the summer.
While the competition is making advances in their infotainment systems, many of them are still relying on a 3G connection for data. We recently took a look at the latest Uconnect system from Chrysler and was impressed with the functionality, but would have appreciated a faster connection speed. With LTE data, Chevrolet will be able to push updates faster, support more applications, and make wireless more productive.
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Chevrolet’s LTE connectivity will be provided via a partnership with AT&T. Pricing will be announced later in 2014, but AT&T will allow customers to add their vehicle to their shared bucket of data if they already are AT&T customers.
Chevrolet will also utilize their high-speed connection for a new feature called AppShop. AppShop is an application interface to allow customers to use services like Glympse and iHeartRadio in the vehicle. Unlike Ford’s system, which requires an app to be installed on a mobile phone, Chevrolet’s system will have its own “app store” from which drivers can download apps directly to their vehicle from within their vehicle.
We look forward to exploring this new connectivity option from General Motors, and exploring which manufacturer’s application model works the best. The LTE connectivity is only available in the United States and Canada, will require an OnStar subscription, and will be available starting in the summer.