US Analog Cell Phone Service To cease By March 2008
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ON Star
We've got one of the older On Star systems and I was upset about the service ending too. Last month we got a letter from On Star stating we could upgrade to digital service for, if I recall, $299 and a 2 year commitment. Not too bad of a deal but at this point I'm opting out. It was important when my dad was driving, but last year at 91 he decided not to drive any more. Most older folks you have to pry the keys out of their hands...
We've got one of the older On Star systems and I was upset about the service ending too. Last month we got a letter from On Star stating we could upgrade to digital service for, if I recall, $299 and a 2 year commitment. Not too bad of a deal but at this point I'm opting out. It was important when my dad was driving, but last year at 91 he decided not to drive any more. Most older folks you have to pry the keys out of their hands...
Wow!
I had no idea there were still analogue services on air.
Ireland's TACS (Total Access Communications System) our original analogue standard which went on air in 1983 was shut down in 2000. Even at that stage it had hardly anyone using it as they'd all been moved over to one of the GSM networks.
I'm amazed that analogue service is still in use this late in the US!!
It seems you guys had a bit of a mess with the move to digital though i.e. the FCC not allocating frequencies, incompatable technologies and poor coverage etc etc.. seems to have kinda slowed the rollout compared to Europe and elsewhere.
I had no idea there were still analogue services on air.
Ireland's TACS (Total Access Communications System) our original analogue standard which went on air in 1983 was shut down in 2000. Even at that stage it had hardly anyone using it as they'd all been moved over to one of the GSM networks.
I'm amazed that analogue service is still in use this late in the US!!
It seems you guys had a bit of a mess with the move to digital though i.e. the FCC not allocating frequencies, incompatable technologies and poor coverage etc etc.. seems to have kinda slowed the rollout compared to Europe and elsewhere.
dj-gabriele
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I have to second mrx on this! I couldn't believe that there is an analog service still on! In Italy too, it was suspended several years ago
Quite a difference...
Between the cited article which claims OnStar upgrades for $15.00 and Matt from Flushing with his quote of $299 from OnStar. Any more details available?
Between the cited article which claims OnStar upgrades for $15.00 and Matt from Flushing with his quote of $299 from OnStar. Any more details available?
GM and analog.
I own 2 cars. A 1987 Volvo 240 that is the best thing on 4 wheels, and a 2002 Saab 9-3, which is a 4-letter word. I bought the Saab in Dec. 2004 because I wanted a safe, fuel efficient, 4-door hatchback, which had very good highway driving manners, and could hold lots of stuff. I was able to get it with a big warranty for less than a new Toyota Corolla. The Saab does everything I want it to do, even getting as high as 43 miles per gallon, but there is one lingering problem, it was made by GM!
The Saab can barely cross a parking lot without colossal mechanical/electrical/suspension failure! Thank goodness for the warranty because in 2007 alone it would have cost me over $4,000.00 in repairs, and I only drove it about 8,000 miles! OY!
Sorry about the venting, but out of sheer frustration I will never EVER buy another GM product again! And now to analog cell phone service...
One feature I really like about my Saab is Onstar. I don't have the full package (I have a cell phone for calling people). I have the package where if the airbags deploy, the car calls Onstar, then Onstar calls my car. Depending on what I say, or if I respond at all, the folks at Onstar can call the police and rescue for me and use the car's locater via GPS to tell them where to find me. I have also used Onstar to report accidents I have witnessed. Also, if the car is stolen, the police can call Onstar, and their staff can locate the car, and tell the police where to find it. It is a great service for safety, and I know that many other luxury brands have similar services, and although I rarely used it, its presence was one of the few reasons why I kept the car.
The problem is that in 2000, when Onstar was first offered on the 9-3, digital cell phone service did exist, was popular, and was already replacing analog service. GM decided to use analog service on their new Saab Onstar equipment. I am upset because GM chose to develop Onstar equipment for a new model using obsolete technology when there was a better alternative. Additionally, they did not offer an upgrade kit for my model. I would like to continue my Onstar service, and am willing to pay money for it, but GM will not let me do that.
Sorry for the rant. I am looking for a job in Boston right now. That way I could give up most driving and ride the T. Anyone know who is hiring in Boston in Historic Preservation?
Onstar Emergency: we cannot help you,
Dave
I own 2 cars. A 1987 Volvo 240 that is the best thing on 4 wheels, and a 2002 Saab 9-3, which is a 4-letter word. I bought the Saab in Dec. 2004 because I wanted a safe, fuel efficient, 4-door hatchback, which had very good highway driving manners, and could hold lots of stuff. I was able to get it with a big warranty for less than a new Toyota Corolla. The Saab does everything I want it to do, even getting as high as 43 miles per gallon, but there is one lingering problem, it was made by GM!
The Saab can barely cross a parking lot without colossal mechanical/electrical/suspension failure! Thank goodness for the warranty because in 2007 alone it would have cost me over $4,000.00 in repairs, and I only drove it about 8,000 miles! OY!
Sorry about the venting, but out of sheer frustration I will never EVER buy another GM product again! And now to analog cell phone service...
One feature I really like about my Saab is Onstar. I don't have the full package (I have a cell phone for calling people). I have the package where if the airbags deploy, the car calls Onstar, then Onstar calls my car. Depending on what I say, or if I respond at all, the folks at Onstar can call the police and rescue for me and use the car's locater via GPS to tell them where to find me. I have also used Onstar to report accidents I have witnessed. Also, if the car is stolen, the police can call Onstar, and their staff can locate the car, and tell the police where to find it. It is a great service for safety, and I know that many other luxury brands have similar services, and although I rarely used it, its presence was one of the few reasons why I kept the car.
The problem is that in 2000, when Onstar was first offered on the 9-3, digital cell phone service did exist, was popular, and was already replacing analog service. GM decided to use analog service on their new Saab Onstar equipment. I am upset because GM chose to develop Onstar equipment for a new model using obsolete technology when there was a better alternative. Additionally, they did not offer an upgrade kit for my model. I would like to continue my Onstar service, and am willing to pay money for it, but GM will not let me do that.
Sorry for the rant. I am looking for a job in Boston right now. That way I could give up most driving and ride the T. Anyone know who is hiring in Boston in Historic Preservation?
Onstar Emergency: we cannot help you,
Dave
If you read the numbers there aren't many people left who rely exclusively on analogue service. The biggest losers will be those in a few really rural areas where there is only one good carrier and it is analogue, but this change will force companies to address that.
Digital does not always equal better
With the sheer size of the US and the extreme number of rural localities not everyone has the benefit of living in an area with ample digital coverage or even the choice of multiple carriers. There's still lots of places you can go and be greeted by "No Signal". A weak analog signal will get the job done where digital falls short, which makes sense too for Onstar equipped vehicles that are on the move and can travel just about anywhere.
This is currently a problem with the new digital TV mandate. If you're pulling a signal off-air there's a threshold for which you don't receive anything. Not a snowy picture, not even audio. But like the cell carriers, it saves them bandwidth and provides opportunity to line their pockets.
For the same reason there aren't a lot of Europeans listening to AM radio either.
With the sheer size of the US and the extreme number of rural localities not everyone has the benefit of living in an area with ample digital coverage or even the choice of multiple carriers. There's still lots of places you can go and be greeted by "No Signal". A weak analog signal will get the job done where digital falls short, which makes sense too for Onstar equipped vehicles that are on the move and can travel just about anywhere.
This is currently a problem with the new digital TV mandate. If you're pulling a signal off-air there's a threshold for which you don't receive anything. Not a snowy picture, not even audio. But like the cell carriers, it saves them bandwidth and provides opportunity to line their pockets.
For the same reason there aren't a lot of Europeans listening to AM radio either.
The thing that's obnoxious about the On-Star debacle is that they weren't all dual band to start with. I can't remember when I got my first cellphone, but it was close to ten years ago and even it was dual band with digital + analogue and automatic switching. Since then all the phones I've had (four, I think, all Sprint by Samsung) have been dual band. That wouldn't solve the problem in underserved areas but would allow On-Star to be used in most places instead of being useless without a big expense to replace the unit.
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