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Asset Tracking

Verizon Wireless Expands M2M Product Suite

May 24, 2011

The launch of TeleNav asset tracker provides organizations with enhanced monitoring, reporting and recovery capabilities of high-value shipments and other mobile assets.


BASKING RIDGE, NJ, and SUNNYVALE, CA /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless and TeleNav, Inc. (NASDAQ: TNAV) announced the availability of TeleNav Asset Tracker. The product provides enterprise customers, utilizing location-based services (LBS) enabled wireless devices, with near real-time location information, as well as critical activity alerts, for cargo, delivery trucks or other mobile assets.

TeleNav Asset Tracker relies on the Verizon Wireless data network to enable machine-to-machine (M2M) data transfer between the company's portable monitoring devices and TeleNav's servers, making the data available to organizations via a secure, Web-based portal. With devices in place inside shipments or on mobile assets, management is able to use TeleNav's portal to monitor the location of assets and manage device properties, such as enabling activity alerts.

TeleNav Asset Tracker also provides management with full-featured dynamic maps offering street and satellite views for easy identification of an asset's location. Real-time alerts can be configured to send notifications when an asset enters or leaves a predetermined geo-fenced area, stops for an extended period of time or if there is a loss of communication with the tracking device.

Organizations can use this real-time location information to enhance supply chain and logistics operations by:

  • Monitoring the status of high-value shipments in transit between warehouses and delivery sites
  • Triggering specific activities, such as loading dock preparation, when cargo enters pre-determined areas to improve supply chain efficiency
  • Reducing theft and vandalism and increasing asset recovery by triggering automatic alerts when cargo moves locations
  • Providing security for trucks and loads traveling in remote locations or in extreme conditions
  • Accessing detailed historical data on the transit of cargo to support customer reporting requirements

Primary beneficiaries of TeleNav's asset tracking technology include manufacturers and distributors involved in shipping of consumer products, apparel, electronics, pharmaceuticals and other high-value goods.

"Many businesses are looking for new methods and products to help them improve the way in which they're able to manage the supply chain from end-to-end," said Mark Bartolomeo, vice president, global enterprise marketing, Verizon Wireless. "In order to achieve that objective, a reliable network is paramount. TeleNav Asset Tracker provides our enterprise customers with an all encompassing product that gives them the data they need to monitor assets once they hit the road, helping them to better manage their logistics operations, reduce theft and generate the detailed reporting their customers require."

TeleNav Asset Tracker works with the PT200, a portable, rugged tracking device, manufactured by Sendum, that can be placed in packages, containers or mounted to equipment. The device can be easily moved from one asset or container to another, giving organizations flexibility in what they choose to monitor at any given time.

The Sendum PT200 uses assisted GPS, a technology that combines satellite GPS with cellular tower triangulation data, to provide rapid "first fix" triangulation as well as location information when the device is connected to the Verizon Wireless network but does not have satellite line of sight. The device is also designed for extreme conditions, working in temperatures ranging from minus 20 degrees to 60 degrees Celsius (minus 4 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit).

Additional features include:

  • Device information, alerts and notifications delivered to the management portal via the Verizon Wireless data network
  • Rechargeable, quick-change, high-capacity lithium ion battery packs capable of powering the device for a long duration in the field
  • Comprehensive reporting - on demand or scheduled reporting cycle
  • Battery level alert notifications
  • Geo-fence function to report when assets leave or enter a defined area
  • Integrated temperature sensor
  • Intelligent power management which conserves battery life and minimizes network usage

"TeleNav Asset Tracker has been well received by a variety of businesses because it provides consistent and accurate location data even in challenging situations, from being placed in a single box as part of a high-value load to tracking a trailer traveling through extreme weather conditions," said Ravi Acharya, director of product marketing for TeleNav Enterprise Mobility. "Combined with our secure management portal that provides a mapping engine, alerts, route monitoring and device management tools, it gives organizations a high level of control and visibility throughout the supply chain."

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's fastest, most advanced 4G network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 104 million total wireless connections, including more than 88 million retail customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, NJ, with 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD).

About TeleNav
TeleNav, Inc. is a leading provider of consumer location-based services (LBS), enterprise LBS and automotive LBS with more than 23 million paying subscribers as of March 31, 2011. TeleNav's solutions provide consumers, wireless service providers, enterprises and automakers with location-specific, real-time, personalized services such as GPS navigation, local search, mobile advertising, mobile commerce, location tracking and workflow automation. TeleNav's technology is available across more than 600 types of mobile phones, all major mobile phone operating systems and a broad range of wireless network protocols. TeleNav's service providers and partners include AT&T, Bell Mobility, Boost Mobile, China Mobile, Cincinnati Bell, Ford Motor Company, NII Holdings, QNX Software Systems, Rogers, Sprint Nextel, Telcel, T-Mobile UK, T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless and Vivo Brazil.






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