Oh! Maybe it was FM. I always thought it was on the same band as the "Tune AM <whatever> for traffic information signs" but as you say outside the audible frequencies. Regardless the point is that the relevant information can be broadcast publicly and does not require location or cellular connectivity to function. My 2010 BMW knew about traffic jams but had no cellular connectivity to my knowledge.
It had the ability to call emergency services. But I don’t think it got map or traffic data through the cellular radio. If it was getting data through the cellular radio it wasn’t very much data.
