Re: [A/S] On the Eve of ....

[Rick Kunath <k9ao@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

OnStar uses the GPS satellite constellation to determine the vehicle's 
position, and until very recently analog cellular sites to make the calls. 

As wide analog cellular coverage is all but gone, and the remaining analog 
sites will disappear soon, new OnStar equipment uses CDMA or GPRS digital 
cell sites to make the calls. GPRS is already obsolete and the rollout of the 
newer and faster digital GPRS EDGE is already mostly complete by some 
carriers. 

Phones using PCS (yet another incompatible cell modulation type), CDMA, GPRS, 
and GRPS EDGE, are not always compatible. Modern phones inculde the ability 
to operate on multiple digital cellular modulation types to allow for 
roaming. 

Most (almost all) CDMA phones and equipment will not operate on the newer GPRS 
EDGE based cell networks (but EDGE equipment will work on GPRS systems.) The 
largest and most widely deployed GPRS EDGE network is the combined 
Cingular/Ameritech network. The largest and probably the network with the 
best overall national coverage is the CDMA based Verizon network, which the 
newer OnStar equipment can use. Note that the Verizon network still uses 
analog coverage in extremely remote areas, and this is why the coverage is so 
outstanding over the other all-digital networks. The newer OnStar equipment 
can still utilize these analog sites if a digital site can't be located, so 
with the newer OnStar offerings a person should be all set.

We use the national Cingular/Ameritech network at work for high-speed Internet 
and private network access to public safety vehicles. It's speed and 
reliability can't be beat. The changeover from the Ameritech GPRS only based 
network to the newer GPRS EDGE technology the Cingular network uses after the 
merger is all but complete. To access this you'll need a newer GPRS EDGE 
capable phone. Internet access speeds burst to over 200k at times depending 
on loading, and reliabiliy has been impressive so far in testing. 100k is 
just about always exceeded.

As far as overall best coverage in all areas of the country, I'd have to give 
Verizon the edge over Cingular. Internet access speeds are about equivalent 
to a dial-up 56k modem on the Verizon network currently. Verizon is in the 
midst of a rollout of their new 1xRTT network technology and will soon be 
raising the bar over the Cingular offering yet again. If you're getting a new 
cell phone from Verizon, amke sure it is 1xRTT capable or you'll miss out on 
the new high speed access. 

I carry a Nextel (because of the Direct Connect feature), a Cingular 
Blackberry with digital and voice coverage, and because I need to have 
absolute coverage no-matter-what a Verizon tri-mode analog/GPRS/CDMA cell 
phone.

The vehicles use Sierra Wireless's new MP775 GPRS EDGE modems with built-in 
GPS receivers. At $1200 per unit, they're not inexpensive, but they do run 
higher power than any hand held cell phone or PC-card based modem, and with 
their external antennas the coverage is excellent. If someone was looking to 
equip a trailer or vehicle with a unit to allow for the highest speed mobile 
Internet access available today, such a setup would be ideal. I'll have one 
along with a wireless access point on my own rig fairly soon. Unlimited 
access plans are available and reasonably priced. 

Cell phones and PCMCIA based plug-in cards for laptops are available too, but 
with the aluminum skin on the Airstream, external antennas are a must. Make 
sure whatever equipment you buy has tha ability to use an external antenna, 
and get a good one.

If you're using the older analog only OnStar equipment, one of these days in 
the not too distant future, it's going to stop working, and before it stops 
entirely it will begin having coverage issues as sites are shut down. Newer 
equipment should be OK  for a good while.

Here's a link to more about the various OnStar equipment from their web site:

http://www.onstar.com/us_english/jsp/explore/onstar_basics/helpful_info.jsp?info-view=tech_equip

And as you can see, even some 2005 vehicles are not equipped with the required 
newer OnStar "Generation Six" equipment needed to allow for OnStar digital 
coverage after the 2008 analog cutoff date. Though 2008 is supposedly the 
cutoff date for analog, be aware that lots of sites will be shut down prior 
to the actual sunset date and coverage, though still there, coverage will get 
dismal at best as the end approaches. 

In the old analog days a cell phone was a cell phone. These days you have to 
know what networks and modulation types any cell phone can use prior to 
making a choice. They're not all compatible and not all cell phones can 
interoperate with competing technologies. Make a bad choice and you'll have 
poor coverage, make a good one and it'll just almost always work.

Rick Kunath
WBCCI #3060