General Motors, laying down a high-stakes bet on the future of vehicle connectivity, plans to make each of its cars an Internet hotspot with a high-speed broadband connection.
By mid-2014, GM will team with AT&T Inc. to equip most 2015 models in the United States and Canada with 4G LTE broadband, the fastest type of wireless Internet connection now available. GM says it eventually will offer the service across nearly its entire global lineup.
Most in-car systems now require a linked smartphone to get Internet content such as Pandora online radio or live traffic information. GM's plan to build in wireless capability will untether users from outside devices.
GM's decision is the strongest signal yet that automakers are moving toward embedded solutions, rather than drivers' smartphones, to offer a faster, more-reliable connection to infotainment offerings.
Perhaps just as important, hard-wiring cars with broadband will make it easy to upgrade infotainment units without hardware changes so buyers aren't stuck with an outmoded system a year or two after purchase.