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GM Is All-In On Bringing Wifi To Your Car
May 13, 2014 at 3:22 AM (PT)
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The ability to receive wifi in your car continues to move at 4G speed, as GENERAL MOTORS is rolling out a new line of pricing for in-car data use.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL reports, "For $5 a day, GM vehicle owners can access 4G LTE high-speed connectivity allowing their occupants to do everything from access the Internet to download movies. GM will offer the feature through its OnStar service, although it is AT&T that will handle the connection. Both companies would share in the revenue."
“It’s a bit of a trial and error to see what sticks with consumers,” said GARTNER GROUP analyst THILO KOSLOWSKI told THE JOURNAL. “Companies will initially face a consumer reaction of ‘I already have a data plan with my phone.’ That means that the in-vehicle experience has to be better, faster and more robust. If that is not strong enough, prices will have to drop.”
GM's $5 a day offering will include 200 megabytes of downloads daily. That's enough to surf the web or listen to a radio stream for awhile -- but not enough to stream a full movie on NETFLIX.
"The daily option seems designed for customers who only want to enable WiFi occasionally, because $5 a day adds up to something like $150 a month," notes THE JOURNAL. "If you’re planning on more frequent use, a $50 a month package comes with 5 gigabytes of monthly downloads, enough for plenty of usage, including video. According to AT&T’s mobile data calculator, 5 gigabytes can go a long way on a mobile device."

