[ozman2005]

Originally Posted by 56chevywagon

As far as the phone sharing Verizon's network...I really do not think that is true. I have seen nor read anywhere that supports this. I can't say that they don't. I would have to say that they wouldn't be sharing considering no matter where you are you can always make calls through the car phone which tells me that it is a satelite supported phone carrier not a tower to tower. Just my $.02.

While I wasn't a network engineer for VZW, I do have a basic knowledge of how the technology works. What you are describing is possible because the hardware used with OnStar is much more powerful than the little antenna that is in a cell phone. Cell phones are designed for maximum battery life and therefore are not able to generate the kind of power needed to sustain a good signal even in low signal areas. There are also the hardware limitations of smaller cell phone devices to consider as well, whereas with limitless power and storage space in a vehicle, OnStar doesn't have nearly as many hurdles to clear in the signal department. As I said, I'm no network tech but I've been in the biz for several years and this is my understanding.