I'm sure you are aware that Bell Atlantic was chosen to set up a national network of wireless telephone service for its OnStar communications service.
Onstar General Manager Chet Huber expects the cellular phone service to be available by the middle of this year. It is to launch close to the time Onstar brings out its Virtual Advisor, which will connect people to personalized information such as e-mail or news headlines they can obtain from the Internet through a voice-activated system.
Although details are still being ironed out, Huber said the charge for the calls will be incorporated into Onstar so consumers receive one bill. The company is looking into offering pre-paid packages so users can, for example, buy 50- or 100-minute calling services.
Onstar expects to make the calling services competitive with other cellular phone services and is considering eliminating access fees and roaming charges, Huber said.
biz.yahoo.com .....
GM and its eventual partner would split a monthly fee for the service, said Mark Hogan, head of GM's Internet unit. OnStar could generate $40 a month in revenue per vehicle, and GM eventually plans to install the hardware for the service on almost all of the 9 million vehicles it makes annually, he said.
"You can imagine, if we develop a subscription fee for every car we make, what an opportunity it would be for us to increase the value of GM," chairman Jack Smith said in an interview.
Eventually, GM will link this service to a handheld unit that drivers can carry with them when they leave the vehicle. "Like any other option, it will eventually trickle down to the entire lineup," Smith said.
yahoo.cnet.com ....
Qualcomm, which is the leader in code division multiple access (CDMA) wireless technology, announced on Wednesday it was buying privately held SnapTrack for $1 billion in stock in a deal that would help it offer customized services to mobile phone users.
SnapTrack developed a technology known as the Wireless Assisted Global Positioning System (GPS) that uses satellites to pinpoint wireless devices, including inside buildings where conventional GPS does not operate.
Sulpizio added that Qualcomm would start integrating SnapTrack software into its phone chips by next year, saying, ``This really puts us at the forefront of wireless locating services.'
The acquisition also will help Qualcomm comply with a U.S. Federal Communications Commission order that by 2001 all mobile phones in the United States be equipped so that emergency 911 services can quickly locate the callers.
biz.yahoo.com ....
Connect the dots here. Bell Atlantic (BEL) should be ready to rolll out the nationwide cellular service for Onstar about the time the Virtual Advisor rolls out. The charge for the calls will be incorporated into Onstar so consumers receive one bill. Flexible plans will be offered at competitive rates. GM plans on their service to be installed in milions of vehicles & they plan on linking the service to a handheld unit you can take anywhere with you. BEL uses QCOM's CDMA tech in their phones. QCOM's patented SnapTrack GPS chip should be available by early next year.
Me thinks by next year I can have the Onstar Virtual Advisor service with hands free access in my car & also have complete access to this service away from my car in a competitively priced service. I will also be able pay for all of my cellular services in one bill.
Onstar, where you are.
The future certainly looks bright to me.
Got shades?
™¨™
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