Ithaca Energy Regulatory News (ITH)

14 Aug 2006 07:00

ITIS Holdings PLC14 August 2006 INTELEMATICS SELECTS ITIS TO SUPPLY RDS-TMC PLATFORM FOR AUSTRALIA Intelematics Australia Pty Ltd ("Intelematics") and ITIS Holdings plc ("ITIS")are pleased to announce that they have entered into an agreement forIntelematics to licence and deploy ITIS developed RDS TMC software for anationwide RDS-TMC service in Australia. Intelematics intend to launch the first commercial broadcast RDS-TMC service inAustralia from early 2007. This service will be received by a growing number ofboth in-car navigation devices and personal navigational devices (PND) to allowdynamic routing to be used to avoid traffic congestion and hence minimisejourney times. RDS-TMC is the chosen route for this new service as it is themost popular world-wide standard for broadcast traffic services and is alreadyadopted by car manufacturer systems and the PND product manufacturers that arerepresented in the Australian market. Intelematics is working with ITIS to integrate average vehicle speed data fromroad loops in metropolitan areas into the TMC application, and to merge thatinformation with journalistic data entered by traffic operators with moredetailed knowledge of incidents affecting the road network. With both the 'cause' and 'effect' information that these sources provide Intelematics,utilising the ITIS application, will be able to provide a high quality trafficservice to road users. The agreement starts with immediate effect to deploy the trial system ahead ofcommercial launch, and will continue until at least December 2011. Adam Game, CEO of Intelematics said, "We are delighted to be working with ITISas we are confident that their prominence and success in the RDS-TMC field willhelp us achieve our goal of extending the reach of our traffic services to thisimportant group of customers." Game added, "For our customers, technical alignment of our RDS-TMCimplementation with Europe's leading commercial RDS-TMC service will minimiserisk and unnecessary localisation that would otherwise be involved in addingtraffic to navigation systems in the Australian market". Stuart Marks, Chief Executive of ITIS Holdings said, "As the leading provider ofcommercial RDS-TMC services, we are delighted that Intelematics have chosen touse our software and platform for their own service in Australia. This is thefirst time that we have licensed our proprietary TMC platform which currentlysupports over 250,000 drivers in the UK and is the largest commercial deploymentof TMC anywhere in the world. " Ends Contact: Stuart Marks, Chief Executive, ITIS Holdings plc - + 44 (0)161 929 5788Ged Brumby, Citigate Dewe Rogerson - +44 (0) 207 282 2945Adam Game, Chief Executive Officer, Intelematics Australia - +61 (0) 3 8415 9000Brian Smith, General Manager Traffic & Content, Intelematics Australia +61 (0) 3 8415 9000 Note to Editors What is Traffic Message Channel (TMC)? The Traffic Message Channel (TMC) is a specific application of the FM Radio DataSystem (RDS) used for broadcasting real-time traffic and weather information.Data messages are received silently and decoded by a TMC-equipped car radio ornavigation system, and delivered to the driver in a variety of ways. The mostcommon of these is a TMC-enabled navigation system that can offer dynamic routeguidance - alerting the driver of a problem on the planned route and calculatingan alternative route to avoid the incident. ITIS background material ITIS Holdings plc, listed on AIM, is the UK's leading provider of trafficinformation and vehicle security services. ITIS has invested in the developmentof a unique system for the collection and analysis of traffic information, itcombines journalistic information with ITIS' historic and real-time FloatingVehicle Data (FVD) to provide journey time forecasts and real-time updates.ITIS now operates the largest commercial application of FVD anywhere in theworld, and delivers the content over a variety of platforms including RDS-TMC(Alert C), digital radio and automated telephone services (IVR) under the AARoadWatch brand. ITIS traffic information is collated from a combination of journalistic andreal-time sources using its own FVD network. The data is then transmitteddirectly to the TMC receiver using a carrier of the Classic FM radio network,which provides coverage of 90% of the strategic road network. Through its NavTrak business (www.navtrak.com), ITIS has developed a unique andinnovative stolen vehicle tracking service delivered via GPS/GSM technology,which offers: • Theft detection- even when owner's keys have been taken. (Automatic Driver Recognition - ADR) • Automatic GPS tracking of stolen vehicles (Stolen Vehicle Recovery) • Theft alerts, GPS tracking and police liaison covering 32 European countries • The NavTrak family of telematics units are fitted to over 100,000 vehicles both in UK, mainland Europe, America and Australia (including products made and sold under the manufacturer's name of Minorplanet Systems plc) ITIS provide traffic data to all mobile phone providers. To receive up-to-datetraffic and travel information direct from your mobile 'phone call 401100 fromany network; 2222 from Vodafone; 2020 from T-mobile. ITIS provide traffic data to www.getmethere.co.uk, a comprehensive service fromToyota providing information on route planning, traffic information, trafficalerts and incidents, and weather forecasts. For further information please visit www.itisholdings.com or www.navtrak.com About Intelematics Australia - Established in 1999, Intelematics Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary ofRoyal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV). The company is a global leader intelematics development and service delivery, and focuses on vehicle safety andsecurity systems, in-vehicle information assistance, and traffic, travel &entertainment services. Intelematics Australia creates seamless 'white-label' interface solutions inpartnership with Australia's leading automotive manufacturers, importers andaftermarket service providers. The company provides customised services to meetthe needs and demands of its customers through a wide range of in-vehicle andother mobile technologies. Intelematics Australia is a founding member of Global Response - a strategictelematics alliance drawing together the leading automobile clubs in Europe, theUnited States and Canada. The global alliance draws on the strength of morethan 80 million club members worldwide, providing Intelematics with access toshared technology and a connection to consumer, automotive and mobility trends. The team behind Intelematics is driven by a strong passion for mobility andproductivity-related technologies to provide motorists with 'peace of mind' whenit comes to their personal safety, the security of their mobile assets and theoption to engage via embedded technology providing elements of convenience andproductivity. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange