Chevy offers $20/month unlimited Onstar data plan
https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/02/c...ners-a-20-monthly-unlimited-in-car-data-plan/
That's actually not bad a bad deal. I still probably wouldn't pay for it though, since my cellphone data plan gives me more than I need.
That's actually not bad a bad deal. I still probably wouldn't pay for it though, since my cellphone data plan gives me more than I need.
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would be nice if it did but I am not going to hold my breath .....
The OnStar data in Canadian GM vehicles also lists AT&T as the provider but I think the actual provider here in Canada is Bell on behalf of AT&T. (recall asking if I could add my car to my Rogers plan for an additional fee when my data trial ran out and someone said it was Bell).
Nothing on the US or Canadian OnStar sites yet which still lists 1Gb/4Gb/10Gb in USA as $10, $20 and $40 p/m and in Canada the same plans are $15, $35, and $70
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The in-car data business is booming, and Chevrolet is stepping up to help meet demand with a new, prepaid $20 monthly unlimited data plan – the first unlimited data plan for car owners from one of the big three in the U.S. The plan will let people connect in-car to OnStar 4G LTE Wi-Fi (in models that offer this, which includes all of its lineup for late-model vehicles).
It’s a big move for Chevrolet and OnStar because data use is on the rise – Chevrolet says that its customers used around 200 percent more data during 2016 than they did in 2015, with a significant portion of that growth coming from the second half of the year.
Chevy’s OnStar LTE connection is supplied by AT&T, and does not require any long-term commitment, so you can cancel at any time. The tech is obviously designed to be enjoyed by passengers, not drivers, but it’s increasingly in demand, especially for families with kids who want to stay connected while on the road.
Connected vehicles provide additional revenue streams for carmakers, so that could be the reason Chevrolet is willing to forgo more income from different pricing tiers in this instance. It should also boost that strong growth the GM-owned carmaker is already seeing in terms of demand for in-car data, which will help long-term with subsidizing the cost of a connected fleet with consumer subscriptions.
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Interesting and not a bad price if you can enroll in this, and this alone.
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Most people who buy EVs already are into tech, and have large cellular dataplans. But if you made it cheap and convenient, it's be a nice feature in the car. I refuse to buy data at $20/month, too expensive. Make the Dataplan $5/Gb (per month) and I'd be happy to sign up.
The problem I see with this is that OnStar itself is not cheap. I've only got a month left on my Bolt EV, and when that is over, I won't likely be renewing it. My Volt still has almost two years of free OnStar left, so I might look into the data plan for that.
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Where does this stat come from? Personally, $20/month for unlimited data is cheap. Not sure what you mean by '$5/Gb (per month) '.
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Might be good for some people.
I think that this is a feeler plan. It's tough to price. I think they'll get data and adjust.
Glad they reacted though, because their other pricing of data is pretty terrible.
Of course, you have to have OnStar, which mobile phones and smartphones have made increasingly irrelevant for most drivers.
I think that this is a feeler plan. It's tough to price. I think they'll get data and adjust.
Glad they reacted though, because their other pricing of data is pretty terrible.
Of course, you have to have OnStar, which mobile phones and smartphones have made increasingly irrelevant for most drivers.
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Makes sense. Did they even offer this service on Gen 1 cars?
2015 Volts were the first to get 4G LTE hotspot service I believe.
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It's not a statistic (I have no sources to back it up), it's a sensible correlation that tech people will like tech cars. And tech people tend to have large data plans on their phones.
$5/Gb (per month) means, $5 per Gigabyte, and if it is not entirely used up in your one month billing cycle, it expires.
Why would I want a large extra expense for data I can only access while in the vehicle? I guess, if I was ride-sharing it would be a lovely perquisite for customers. But a small expense spread across a large number of people (lets call it the Netflix pricing model) makes a lot more sense. Especially since you have the system built anyway (AT&T, BELL, etc. etc.) I'm assuming this extra money (Dataplans in vehicles) is simply gravy over their business, so why gouge OnStar (where Onstar passes the gouging on to their customers, who then opt out of the service).
But what do I know, I'm in Canada, and we're gouged far harder than the USA in terms of mobile data.
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FYI, here is the Canadian OnStar Data Plan options, which, as you can see, is just bad comedy:
Monthly data plans will expire at the end of 30 days, or after data is used, whichever occurs first. Monthly data plans will renew automatically every 30 days.
1 GB per month - $15.00 for 30 days
4 GB per month - $35.00 for 30 days
10 GB per month - $70.00 for 30 days
One Time Purchases
250MB for one Day - $5.00/day
20GB for one year - $200.00 for 365 days
Monthly data plans will expire at the end of 30 days, or after data is used, whichever occurs first. Monthly data plans will renew automatically every 30 days.
1 GB per month - $15.00 for 30 days
4 GB per month - $35.00 for 30 days
10 GB per month - $70.00 for 30 days
One Time Purchases
250MB for one Day - $5.00/day
20GB for one year - $200.00 for 365 days
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So you consider $20/month for unlimited data too expensive, but you would rather pay $5 per GB per month? Alrighty...
This is a great deal for a good number of people. Have kids with mobile devices? Need data for work while on the go? etc, etc, etc.
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The idea is to cap my data-in-car spending at about $5, with the option on say a road trip to go up to $10-$15 if necessary. Why slap a regular $20/month bill into my life if I don't have to? All-You-Can-Eat buffets are highly overrated.
/CanadianPragmatism
I agree, in your case - don't go to the all you eat buffet... For the moment, this doesn't make sense for us either.
Interesting idea llninja, but you'd need onstar for that canabilized system too... so more than $20 per month.
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