Ready to trade your old car in for a shiny new mobile hotspot? AT&T and GM are using the international platform that is Mobile World Congress to announce a partnership that'll bring the carrier's LTE network to "millions of cars" under the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac umbrellas. The rollout is set to hit the 2015 models due out in 2014 in the US and Canada. The partnership with GM-owned OnStar will bring AT&T connectivity to a variety of services, including safety, diagnostics, infotainment and safety -- the carrier's president of emerging enterprises and partnerships, Glenn Lurie, told us that the latter was a chief concern for his company. "First and foremost is making the car safer," he explained, referencing the company's "It Can Wait," anti-driving-while-texting campaign. Such will certainly be a concern when the company realizes its dreams of turning GM vehicles into mobile hotspots.
Details of the partnership are forthcoming, though Lurie insists that AT&T will be "working on every aspect of what's going into the vehicle," including opening up SDKs and APIs for developers in an attempt to, "futureproof the car for things to come." As far as futureproofing after market vehicles, Lurie says, "we are working and looking at all opportunities in the after market space. We are absolutely working with partners on the after market." More info from GM and AT&T can be had after the break.
Daniel Cooper contributed to this report.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, AT&T
