I think it probably has already been considered and they nixed it.
We have a Chevy Impala '01 with analog only OnStar. For the past 2 years we have been informed that we will lose service in 2008, but analog only providers would be contacted for more information as the time nears. More information - that I won't have service. Well, they could have told me that 2 years ago. Why didn't they? They made it sound like there would be something done. Could it be they didn't want people to drop them
2 years ago?
A posibility being that wireless companies will still keep the analog running and we would continue to have service. I even spoke to an On-Star representative who stated that this was a very good possibility.
The letter we recieved notes that this was an FCC mandate that required the copmanies to go digital. I remember reading an article that stated the government wanted the analog network for themselves.
You konw there are those pockets where only analog will still be available. As well as the wireless companies still having analog around as they convert everything over to digital. There is a phase out process that the companies have yet to state.
As stated above, the letter states FCC mandate that the wireless companies are not required to support analog. Doesn't say that they won't. Yet Onstar (owned by GM) has decided to not provide service to those vehicles with analog only as of 2008. This was a GM choice. And I think the reason being was at the end of their notice stating "and we want you to know that there are many 2006 and 2007 GM models available with the digital network". So they want me to buy another $30,000 or more car.
Also, they are not giving me a year renewal, but monthly - which if I remember correctly costs more.
We purchased the Impala for the safety of the car, good mileage and because of OnStar. Onstar was the deciding point between the Impala and a few other manufacturers. My husband uses for commuting 100 miles round trip, 5 days a week. We have it for the air-bag deployment and anti-theft only. When we were looking to purchase a house here 6 years ago, we saw an accident. Man had a heart attack and he crashed off the road into some trees. No-one saw it and he was there for hours. Died because of it. If he had OnStar, his airbags would have deployed and he would have had help and still be alive. We purchased with this in mind and that when it was time for our son to start driving we would have OnStar available. Well now we won't. We have this piece of crap in the car coming from the ceiling into the mirror. You can see the wires if you look closely at how it comes down to the mirror. And we no longer have it for our piece of mind for our son who is a new driver. I know, I know - what did people do years ago. But years ago there weren't as many cars on the road. And all cars were pretty much the same size. People weren't driving around in Hummers and Avalanches while others in a compact car. We didn't have all the illegals driving around without licenses and insurance. Of course you always had people driving around without a license and insurance, but not at such a rate as today.
Technology doesn't change that much in 5 years. It was already there and the BIG companies continued to use the old cheaper methods.
GM knew this was going to happen, yet even after the FCC mandated they continued to install analog only.
Yes, companies aren't responsible for outdated technology, but they should be when in such a short time frame. You were able to relpace 8 Tracks with a cassette player in your car. Or you were still able to use your 8 track deck because you had the tapes to play still. So its not like you had equipment in the car they you weren't able to use. Our Impala still has a cassette player. Granted you don't see many cassettes being offered in the stores anymore, but I do have a good amount at home that doesn't render the casette player useless. Same with VHS tapes. You don't see many around any longer, but you have enough at home that doesn't render the equipment useless. Unlike OnStar.
GM made OnStar directly into the car (or so it seems) so that it could not be replaced. I now have something in the car I cannot use.
GM should replace or give a nice discount to those analog customers to have OnStar replaced with digital equipment. I can't see OnStar being hooked up to every single part in the car. It has to be hooked to the computer chip somehow and obtain readings from there. Just like your technician in the dealership reads the chip, so can Onstar. We had an issue with the car 2X, and contacted on-Star while driving, and they read us a code that they diagosed. Same code the dealership obtained when reading the computer chip. So like someone mentioned in the thread, I think just the cellular portion needs to be changed.
Do we have any wireless techs out there who might know anything?
I wonder if there is going to be a class action suit?