AT&T, Audi Announce In-Car 4G LTE Plans, Starting At $99 For 6 Months

Lucas123 writes "Audi is set to became the first car company to offer native, in-vehicle broadband in its 2015 A3 models through AT&T and it has just listed pricing for the service. Audi and AT&T will offer two data plan options: a 5GB, 6-month plan for $99 and a 30GB, 30-month plan for $499. Audi and GM first announced the upcoming availability of in-car 4G LTE during the CES show this year. GM plans to roll out 4G LTE in vehicles later this year and will eventually have more than 30 models supporting it. Audi said it plans to expand 4G LTE capability across its entire lineup as new or refreshed models come to market."

Comments

Re:Overpriced.

[ackthpt]

'Nuff said.

Highway robbery!

I'll get me coat.

Double, triple, quadruple charging

[Solandri]

I have a phone. It has a 4G LTE plan. It is always with me.

I have a tablet. I cannot use it simultaneously with my phone (in the sense that I'm actively doing something that consumes data with one device).

I have a laptop. I cannot use it simultaneously with my tablet and phone.

I have a car. I cannot use it simultaneously with my laptop, tablet, and phone.

Clearly the proper metric that used here is to charge for LTE data use per individual (or even per GB). Not per device. The "correct" solution here is to get your cellular data plan with your phone, and have your phone operate as a hotspot to share that data with your tablet, laptop, and car. Attempts to charge for service on a per-device basis is just double-, triple-, or quadruple-dipping by the carriers. If service is being metered per GB, this shouldn't even be an issue. Pay a nominal fee for an LTE SIM card, link it to your phone account, and add the data it uses to your monthly usage. There is absolutely no need for the device to have its own separate plan.

Re:Overpriced.

[davester666]

This is the LAST thing I would want in my car. For it to automatically send GM whatever information GM thinks they would like, as often as it wants, on my dime, and then GM can sell/rent/lease/make available to whomever shows up at their door with a warrant or a dollar.

And my phone already has a data plan, which is with me in the car when I drive around. At best, I might let it do a software upgrade via my phone.

This is really just about GM [and the other manufacturers] to get ongoing revenue out of me, while doing absolutely nothing for it.

Kind of like "tethering plans" from your cell phone provider.