In the news today are two stories that should grab the attention of any analog cable and cell network user, including people who have OnStar and analog cable television (think rabbit ears, or television that works without a cable box). The analog network that has been in place for nearly 25 years is shutting down by order of the FCC in February 2008. What this means is a lot of unplanned expense for a significant segment of the population.

The hardest hit will be users of the popular OnStar service. Even those who bought some vehicles as late as 2005 may be hit by incompatibility issues. Not all cars made the switch to the digital network interface, meaning that many OnStar users will be forced to upgrade their hardware if they want to keep the service. OnStar has not replied to questions on whether or not the customers will have to foot the bill or OnStar will help cover the cost.

Other people affected are those who use either “rabbit ears” to pull in television reception or who just have one of the older “cable ready” televisions that operates without a box. They will both have to make the switch to a digital cable in the coming year, ready or not.

There aren’t many cell phone users still using an old school cell phone on the analog network, but there are a few, notably those who had a car phone pre-2000. for those people, they will be forced to upgrade the cell equipment itself to something that accepts a digital signal.

No one is happy with the fact that the switch is forced, but it has been in the works for suite some time. I’m not sure when the first announcement of the change came, but I know it has been quietly in the news for the whole of 2007. Luckily, all of our television, internet and phone equipment is on the digital network, so we don’t have any worries at our house. We know several people who have steadfastly remained on analog, though, to save money, and this will definitely affect both them and their budget.

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