Starting March 3, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac owners can get unlimited 4G LTE data for just $20 per month, prepaid. The plan also includes an OnStar Wi-Fi hotspot. Unfortunately, it’s limited to in-car use only. (Well, you can stand outside the car and still get a signal…)
… It’s apparently economies of scale that are helping Chevy lower costs. It has sold 3.1 million OnStar LTE-equipped cars, more than any other automaker, and customers streamed 4 million GB of hotspot WiFi data in 2016, double the year before.
Big Truck, Big Data Usage
Chevy says Silverado, Suburban and Tahoe drivers consumed the most data last year. They used their hotspots for work. The next largest users of in-car data are families with kids to entertain. (Whatever happened to Car Bingo?) Next up are users who stream music via Spotify and other services.
OnStar currently charges $10 a month for 1 GB of data, $20 a month for 4 GB and $40 a month for 10 GB of data. Data passes also are available for $5 for 250 MB of data per day, or 20 GB used over 12 months for $150. The data plans are sold through AT&T or through OnStar.
General Motors said it will offer the $10/mo. plan for 1 GB and the $20/mo. unlimited plan going forward. (Via The Detroit News)
AT&T Supplies the Data
Chevy’s data provider is AT&T. The carrier has been engaged in a constant battle of oneupmanship with rivals T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint. All four carriers now offer unlimited data plans to their customers. All are continually tweaking their offerings to try and better their competitors.
It will be interesting to see if the other car makers try and match Chevy’s unlimited data plan.
