Tech

Chevy Malibu to Become Rolling Wi-Fi Hotspot

Dawn Chmielewski
WATCH LIVE

OnStar wants to turn the family car into a rolling Wi-Fi hotspot.

The provider of automatic crash response, turn-by-turn navigation, and other in-vehicle services said it will bring 4G LTE wireless connectivity to some 30 General Motors vehicles, starting next month with the 2015 Chevrolet Malibu.

OnStar 4G LTE in a 2015 Cadillac ATS
Source: OnStar

OnStar will offer a three-month free trial period (or three gigabytes of data, whichever comes first), allowing vehicle owners to sample the service. Monthly fees start at $5 for OnStar subscribers, who would receive up to 200 megabytes of data (enough to stream about 6.5 hours of music or go online for 13 hours).

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Rates increase with consumption, reaching $50 a month for five gigabytes of data. The OnStar hotspot would support up to seven devices — from laptop computers to smartphones, tablets and videogame consoles.

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OnStar said it plans to introduce this feature on GM vehicles of various makes — including Buick, Cadillac and GMC — throughout the year.

The service, provided through AT&T, is available only on 2015 models.

—By Dawn Chmielewski, Re/code.net.

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