OnStar Totally Explained

Everything about Onstar totally explained

OnStar Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors which provides subscription-based communications, in-vehicle security and diagnostics systems throughout the United States and Canada. OnStar services are only available currently on vehicles manufactured by General Motors, however service was available for a short time on vehicles produced by Acura, Audi, Subaru and Volkswagen through a licensing agreement. The service is available for all vehicles that have the factory-installed OnStar hardware.
   It consists of both communication, through AMPS (primary) or CDMA (secondary) mobile phone networks (usually Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel and/or AT&T Mobility (via AMPS) in the United States and Telus, Bell Mobility and/or Rogers Wireless (via AMPS) in Canada), and location information using GPS technology. Drivers and passengers can use its audio interface to contact OnStar representatives for emergency services, vehicle diagnostics and directions. OnStar equipped vehicles with an active subscription will also contact representatives, based out of Troy, Michigan; Charlotte, North Carolina; Tondo, Manila; Makati, Philippines; and Oshawa, Ontario in the event of a collision where the airbags are deployed. Newer models will contact OnStar in any type of collision whether airbags deploy or not. This new service is called Automatic Crash Response (ACR) and is designed to greatly enhance emergency response efforts.
   When a driver presses the Red OnStar Emergency button or Blue OnStar button, current vehicle data and the user's GPS location are immediately gathered. This information is then sent to OnStar. OnStar Emergency calls are routed to the OnStar Center with highest priority. Two centers exist to receive emergency calls: Charlotte, North Carolina and Oshawa, Ontario; and all centers are open 24 hours a day.
   Starting 2009, General Motors will equip new vehicles with Stolen Vehicle Slowdown

. This allows police to remotely slow down the vehicle. The service is also expected to help reduce the risk of property damage, serious injuries or fatalities resulting from high-speed pursuits of stolen vehicles. Customers can opt out of that function, but critics doubt that this decision will be honored in all cases. It could also give someone who hacked into the system control over the car.
Verizon Wireless currently offers the "Nationwide Plan with OnStar," which is a bundle plan between Verizon Wireless service and OnStar service. With this plan, the Verizon Wireless phone is the "primary line" and the OnStar device is the "secondary line." This plan is actually based around the "Family SharePlan," with rates starting at $69.99 USD for 700 minutes.

History

OnStar was founded in 1995 as a collaboration between GM, EDS and Hughes Electronics Corporation Each of the founding companies brought a specific area of expertise to the enterprise: GM brought vehicle design and integration and a distribution system of millions of vehicles, EDS brought much of the systems development and information management and customer service technologies, while Hughes contributed communications and satellite technology and automotive electronics.
In 1996, then GM North America Operations President Rick Wagoner officially launched OnStar at the Chicago Auto Show. OnStar delivered its first product and service to the market in 11 months - in the fall of 1996 for model year 1997 Cadillac DeVille, Seville and Eldorado models.
In April 2006, GM notified approximately 500,000 of their OnStar customers who have analog service that their service would be terminated effective December 31, 2007, because starting February 18, 2008 the FCC will no longer require US cell phone systems to operate in analog mode. Customers who purchased a prepaid, non-refundable, non-transferable 1-year OnStar Safe & Sound subscription were scheduled to receive an equipment upgrade. If the vehicle is from the 2003, 2004, or 2005 model year, an adapter costing approximately $200 (includes a one year subscription) can be installed at the customer's expense. If it's older, it'll simply no longer be usable. A law firm in Pennsylvania representing some of the affected customers sought to have a class certified for a class action lawsuit for damages claimed in the cancellation of OnStar service.

Advocacy

OnStar advocates tout it as an essential safety tool. GM commercials have compared it to seatbelts and airbags, as the next major technology for safe driving. The benefits, they say, include its ability to aid police in tracking down stolen vehicles; contacting emergency medical services in case of an accident (should the driver request this or be non-responsive); notifying drivers of potentially dangerous mechanical problems; emails are sent to owners that give a diagnostics of their vehicle every month if subscribed to; and unlocking doors for drivers (after verifying authorization over the phone) should their keys be misplaced or locked inside their car. OnStar's basic subscription also includes Roadside assistance, as well HFC (Hands Free Calling) which is integrated into the OnStar system and operates in the same way as a regular cell phone does except that it's operated through voice recognition. Automatic Crash Response allows emergency advisors to provide emergency medical services (EMS) with additional crash information such as rollover status, direction of impact, which airbags have deployed (front, side etc,) and the Delta V-Force which is a medical measure of the intensity of an impact. All this information allows EMS to respond to the crash with appropriate equipment.

Advertising campaign

GM promoted the service with radio commercials demonstrating how it would work. It provided the recording of someone interacting with OnStar in various scenarios designed to show its utility. The commercials stated that these were recordings of actual instances of customers using the services, and gave the date on which they occurred. Scenarios included: someone whose airbag had deployed receiving a "check-in" call from OnStar, someone contacting OnStar to have his car unlocked when the keys were inside, and someone in an accident receiving help through OnStar in contacting emergency services that may presumably have otherwise taken longer to summon. The purpose of the last was to show how OnStar could provide the exact physical location of a caller in distress to Emergency Services, and remain on the line after Emergency services disconnects to ensure that if a caller's physical condition were to deteriorate, Emergency services could be promptly updated.

Criticism

Critics raise questions about whether police or others could make use of OnStar's tracking, whether legally or illegally, for surveillance or stalking. Privacy advocates worry that innocent citizens may be hassled by the authorities due to false alarms. At least one group, OnStar Privacy, has dedicated a website to privacy concerns of the service.
   Concerns have also been raised about what could be done with the data collected and stored by a vehicle's MVEDR, which is analogous to the "black box" recorder on airplanes, although an MVEDR isn't as sophisticated and doesn't currently function as a digital audio recorder. For example, privacy advocates worry that auto dealers could use data to suggest that the user engaged in reckless driving and therefore violated the terms of the vehicle’s warranty, or insurance companies could use said data as the basis for denying claims.
   Voice-monitoring capability is marketed as OnStar Hands-Free Calling. The use of this type of capability by law enforcement is subject to legal debate and some technical impediments. OnStar maintains that it's unable to "listen to, view, or record the content of calls". However, a 2003 lawsuit revealed that systems such as OnStar can be used for eavesdropping on passenger conversations.
   OnStar maintains that it's committed to maintaining the privacy

of its customers. OnStar is only aware of the present (and previous) position of the vehicle when its OnStar equipment calls OnStar with data updates (or certain other circumstances). OnStar will release information about a vehicle only for marketing research, to protect the rights, property, or safety of any person, in exigent circumstances, to prevent misuse of their service, when legally required to do so or when subject to a valid court order, or in various other circumstances.

Hardware

GM is currently deploying OnStar Generation 7 hardware that includes enhanced services and diagnostics. OnStar hardware is currently manufactured by Continental AG, although early models were made by Delphi and Motorola.
However, it remains to be seen whether OnStar will remain a stand-alone vehicular gadget, in view of the fast-changing mobile world. OnStar is one of the dashtop mobile devices that tends to point to an all-in-one convergence, as mobile technology evolves. GPS navigation, MP3 players, HD radios, satellite radios, and many other emerging vehicular gadgets and gimmicks are on the way to convergence.

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