AT&T seems to have usurped Verizon Wireless as General Motors carrier of choice for the auto makers OnStar telematics offering.
AT&T reported today that is has signed a multi-year agreement to provide an “enhanced suite of safety, security, diagnostic and infotainment services” to OnStar deployments in GM’s range of car brands using the carrier’s LTE network. The agreement is set to begin in 2014 and will cover the United States and Canada. The Canadian network provider for the offering was not released.
AT&T said the offering will include voice calling, streaming audio, Web access, applications and video for backseat passengers as well as powering GM’s planned in-vehicle Wi-Fi hotspot offering. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The timing of the deal seems to provide AT&T with enough time to fully deploy its LTE services across its current cellular footprint, which it expects to reach 300 million potential customer covered by mid-2014.
AT&T seems to have found an ally at GM’s through former CEO Ed Whitacre, who led the car company out of its controversial 2009 bankruptcy. Whitacre had previously served as CEO and chairman of the board at AT&T before retiring in 2007. AT&T claims it has certified and supports nearly 1,300 varieties of connected devices on its network.
GM had relied exclusively on Verizon Wireless to provide 2G and 3G telematics services to its OnStar service for nearly a decade, including through a controversial transition between analog and digital in-car offerings. Verizon Wireless announced last year plans to bolster its LTE telematics offering through a new partnership with auto makers BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Toyota.
AT&T and GM plan to discuss their new partnership in greater detail at this week’s Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona.
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