“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.”

Through GM’s 5G network, 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 vehicles.

The 4G LTE and 5G network improvements will be foundational for the future of GM’s growing over-the-air update strategy, which is in the automaker’s overall innovation and growth plan.

Currently, OnStar and Connected Services are offered to Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac owners with 2019 model year and newer 4G LTE-capable vehicles. They will be able to easily transition to the new network once available.

Since the launch of 4G LTE in 2014, GM owners have used more than 171 million gigabytes of data across its brands – equivalent to nearly 5.7 billion hours of music streamed or more than 716 million hours of streaming video.

This rollout is part of GM and AT&T’s broad strategy to launch the world’s largest fleet of 5G-enabled vehicles after two years of collaboration.

AT&T covers more than 250 million people across the country.

The telecom company invested more than $110 billion in its wireless and wireline networks, including capital investments and acquisitions of wireless spectrum and operations from 2016 to 2020.

The network enhancements will include: improved roadway-centric coverage, faster music and video downloads with higher quality, secure over-the-air software updates and faster navigation, mapping and voice services

To support GM’s next-generation of connected vehicle solutions, AT&T and Microsoft collaborated to bring the speed of AT&T’s 5G network with Microsoft’s secure cloud services.

GM’s 5G network will also provide a foundation as the company advances its technology, such as Super Cruise and its Vehicle Intelligence Platform. Once it is launched, GM will provide access for its strategic partners to connect over AT&T’s 5G network, raising the bar to deliver future mobility services, such as e-commerce, smart city and vehicle-to-electric grid.

5G connectivity will first be available in select model year 2024 vehicles.