OnStar: People call when they're lonely

LAS VEGAS--Customers who subscribe to GM's OnStar service mostly call when they need help unlocking a car or after an accident--but some call when they are lonely, said Chet Huber, president of the company.

"They call and ask them (the OnStar phone consultants) to contact their wife," he said. The social calls, however, have been dropping since the company integrated Verizon's cellular service with hands-free driving. During Hurricane Katrina, OnStar gave customers in Louisiana free cellular service. In some places, it was the only phone.

The company will come out with a new upgrade of its hardware in a month.

On a side note, the OnStar crowd stayed, by chance, in the same hotel favored by attendees from the Adult Entertainment Expo taking place here at the same time. "There are some different people here," Huber said.
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