Originally Posted By: Roarmeister
Originally Posted By: Paul810

Personally, I've got GM's On-Star in my truck, which works on the same network as cell phones, but uses a significantly more powerful transmitter (3 watts). Typically I can get a signal with that when I can't get one with my cell phone. The downside though, is that it's built into my vehicle.


I've a question about the ON-star system. When it first came out it worked on analog cellular technology. When the analog system was killed off the older vehicles with analog on-star lost their connectivity. The new system is digital but what type? GSM, CDMA, TDMA, frequencies? Are these available everywhere?


The newer OnStar setups use a CDMA digital based system with roughly 3 watts of power. It mainly connects to the Verizon network (in the U.S.) and Bell Mobility (in Canada).

It works pretty well. My cell phone is Verizon and I've been able to call with OnStar just fine in places where my cell phone doesn't have any signal.

Here is their coverage map:

OnStar Coverage