AT&T and General Motors announced a new 5G connected car deal. They will bring 5G cellular connectivity to millions of GM vehicles coming off the assembly line over the next ten years.

The connectivity will first be available in select model year 2024 vehicles. Additionally, through GM’s fifth-generation network, the current 4G LTE-equipped model year 2019 and newer vehicles will experience faster connectivity speeds and many of the same performance benefits of future 5G-equipped vehicles. Current Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac owners in the U.S. with 4G LTE-capable model year 2019 and newer vehicles will easily migrate to the new network infrastructure once available.

“By connecting millions of GM vehicles to our nationwide 5G network, we will improve the customer experience for existing services while laying the groundwork for the next wave of innovation including autonomous driving,” said Gregory Wieboldt, senior vice president, Global Business, Industry Solutions, AT&T. “We now connect more vehicles than any other carrier and GM has played a critical role in our success. We’re honored to work alongside GM to usher the next chapter of connected driving.”

 Part of long-term plans

This rollout is part of GM and AT&T’s broad strategy to launch the world’s largest fleet of 5G-enabled vehicles and the culmination of a two-year collaboration, including test-driving connected vehicles in GM’s 5G proving grounds in Milford, Michigan.

Their ultimate goal is to build a high-performance 5G core network that delivers a new standard. Network enhancements will include:

• Improved roadway-centric coverage
• Faster music and video downloads with higher quality
• Faster, more reliable, and secure over-the-air software updates
• Faster navigation, mapping, and voice services

The network improvements will be foundational for the future of GM’s growing over-the-air update strategy, an element of the automaker’s overall innovation and growth plan. With more advanced features, robust software, and faster download speeds, more data is accessible to provide a more convenient customer experience. GM’s fifth-generation network will also provide a strong foundation as the company advances its technology, such as Super Cruise and its Vehicle Intelligence Platform.

To support GM’s rapid innovation and delivery of next-generation connected vehicle solutions, AT&T and Microsoft are bringing together the speed and reliability of AT&T’s 5G network with Microsoft’s scalable and secure cloud services.

“Together with AT&T, we’ve brought unprecedented experiences to the daily commute, family road trips, and everything in between,” said Santiago Chamorro, GM vice president of Global Connected Services. “As an in-vehicle connectivity leader, this rollout demonstrates our commitment to growth through software-enabled services and reimagining every customer touchpoint by enabling faster connectivity speeds to power in-vehicle voice-enabled services, navigation, and apps that our customers have grown to love.”

Currently, AT&T’s 5G network covers more than 250 million people across the country. From 2016 to 2020, they invested more than $110 billion in wireless and wireline networks, including capital investments and acquisitions of wireless spectrum and operations.

GM offers OnStar and Connected Services to more than 16 million customers in the U.S. and Canada. Since the launch of 4G LTE in 2014, GM owners have used more than 171 million gigabytes of data across their brands, equivalent to nearly 5.7 billion hours of music streamed or more than 716 million hours of streaming video.