Cell phone traffic yielding real-time road traffic info

The overnight news that TomTom NV is to acquire Applied Generics Limited has some interesting ramifications for the way in which we navigate on the roads. TomTom offers quality, innovative, easy-to-use personal navigation products and services to the consumer market. Applied Generics has developed technology that makes it possible to generate real time road traffic information based on analysis of mobile telephone network usage and cell-switching. The technology is commercially deployed and has the potential to deliver high quality traffic information at a fraction of the investment normally required to generate traffic information. Which means that TomTom may soon be in the position to offer additional income streams to network operators and invaluable real time nationwide information on traffic conditions overlayed on top of directional and road network information. If you'd like to see Applied Generics' real time road traffic technology working, click this text and follow the instructions in the second paragraph. Very cool!

"We are very pleased that we have acquired Applied Generics,” said TomTom's CEO, Harold Goddijn.

“The unique patented and proven technology which the company has developed will deliver high quality real time traffic information, not only for motorways but also for local roads. With the proliferation of car navigation products and the increase of congestion, there is a rapidly growing installed base and customer need for these kinds of services. We are looking forward to working with mobile network operators across Europe and North America to deploy the technology on a wide scale.”

Dr Joe Dixon, CEO of Applied Generics said "With the large customer base and rapidly growing number of car navigation products as well as the financial and distribution strength of the TomTom Group, we are now in a unique position to commercialise our technology much more widely and to deliver unprecedented accurate and granular traffic information products that will help people to arrive at their destination in the shortest possible time. Our existing customers and partners will benefit from Applied Generics being part of the TomTom Group.

TomTom's products include all-in-one navigation devices which enable customers to navigate right out of the box, as well as navigation software products which integrate with third party devices such as PDAs and smartphones.

TomTom's portfolio of products and services includes the award-winning TomTom GO family of integrated navigation devices, the TomTom ONE, the TomTom Navigator software for PDAs, TomTom MOBILE navigation software for smart phones and TomTom Plus, a location-based content and services offering for TomTom's navigation products and Datafactory's Webfleet platform for Tracking and Tracing services.