Global Telematics, the joint venture between Racal Electronics Plc and mobile phone distributor European Telecom Plc, has announced its first set of products, a vehicle tracking and navigation service called Orchid. The service uses a Racal GPS global positioning system receiver connected to a GSM Groupe Speciale Mobile phone. Geographical co-ordinate information is sent to a database and call center run by the Automobile Association, where services such as voice based route direction, vehicle tracking services, breakdown assistance and local information are added. It’s initially being run through the cellular network of the Vodafone Group Plc, through mobile phones distributed by European Telecom. Global Telematics is also said to be negotiating with Cellnet Mobile Communications Ltd, which has a similar agreement with rival traffic monitoring service Trafficmaster Plc (CI No 3,268). The system can be used as a navigational direction and traffic information guide, as an anti-theft vehicle tracking service, or as a fleet management service for hauliers and large companies. Fleet managers can use a map-based database installed by Navigational Technologies Corp, with a modified end user system with no voice component. Global Telematics has plans to launch the service in South Africa, the country with the highest rates of car theft in the world. There are weak points to the system. Being a push rather than pull technology, data has to be pushed to the control center via GSM so information has to be requested rather than delivered, not useful for traffic jam avoidance or anti-theft. And if the GSM aerial is cut the security system fails. It also seems expensive for consumer use, with hardware costing between 700 pounds and 900 pounds, a 35 pound connection charge, 10 pound yearly charge, installation fee of 150 pounds, and each call charged at 98 pence per minute by Vodafone. Global Telematics is negotiating with various car companies for the installation of its system at source. The company, which began operation in July of this year (CI No 3,211) and predicts it will reach 50m pounds in revenues by 2000 from its UK operations alone, wouldn’t comment on the impact of the General Motors On Star traffic and navigation system due to be bundled on Vauxhall cars in January 1998.
