John Shutt wrote: > One reason GM stuck with analog cell service for so long in the first > place was because of it's tremendously longer range. I don't think any range differences were the real reason. I think it was more a coverage issue: AMPS was a universal standard, with coverage all over the US using a single analog standard. Digital comes in several flavors, and even today, coverage is not quite as universal for any one flavor of digital. Many parts in the US had analog-only service well after 1996 (when OnStar was first offered). Still, by the time OnStar was first offered, the FCC had already established its analog cellular sunset date, so it's hard for me to justify a design that depended solely on an obsolescent service. Sounds a lot like Disney Moviebeam. Something designed from day 1 to have a short life. I would have made the system cell-network-agnostic from the start, giving each customer the option of using their own cell phone company for the OnStar service. And, it goes without saying, digital-analog compatible from day 1. There's no reason at all why something like OnStar shouldn't be cell-network-agnostic, since the system is not run by a telco. The modular design should make this particularly straightforward. And, in principle, this could also have been offered in overseas markets. But I'm sure you're right when you say: > I think that GM is looking at the subscription rate of those older > analog-only systems and deciding that it isn't worth the engineering > effort to create digital cell phone modules. There is something to be said about not creating ill will so blatantly and so unnecessarily. Bert ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.