Category: GPS Tracking System News

• July 26th, 2011
• Jackson Parker

Real-time car traffic data company Inrix announced yesterday that it has raised $37 million in series D financing. Inrix generates traffic information based on speed and location information provided by GPS-enabled devices in more than 10 million vehicles, including cars with participating telematics systems and fleet vehicles. The company is using the funding to support continued growth opportunities.

Currently the company offers traffic data in 22 countries across North America and Europe and has over 100 million users. Inrix’s partners include Audi, Ford Motor Company, MapQuest, Microsoft, NAVIGON, Tele Atlas, Telmap, TeleNav, and Toyota. For example, Inrix currently powers the popular Ford SYNC traffic and navigation services. Audi and Toyota currently use Inrix traffic services in some of their vehicles starting with such as the new Audi A6 in Europe and Toyota Entune-equipped Prius V and Camry in North America.

Inrix also offers traffic apps for smartphones and provides data to others, including nine of the top 10 traffic apps for the Apple iPhone and Google Android platforms. With all these partnerships and licensing agreements,the company’s CEO Bryan Mistele said that his goal is to “be the Google of traffic info.”

• July 5th, 2011
• Jackson Parker

LightSquared is in fight or flight mode. The company has publicly been on attack against the GPS industry, which has expressed grave concerns regarding the potential of interference to its operations from LightSquared’s proposed network.

In a press release LightSquared said that the GPS community is responsible for this mess, because it had the opportunity over the last several years to install filters “that cost as little as five cents each” that would have mitigated any interference issues. LightSquared said that its new plan for deploying its fledgling nationwide wholesale wireless broadband solves interference for “about 99.5% of commercial GPS devices, including 100% of the 300 million GPS-enabled cell phones.”

The new plan calls for LightSquared to use only the lower portion of its L-band spectrum, and not the upper portion, the latter of which abuts the spectrum band used for GPS system services. It also will reduce the maximum power of its base stations by more than 50%. Theoretically, these tactics in concert will lessen the chance that interference to GPS operations will occur.

The Coalition to Save Our GPS doesn’t think much of LightSquared’s latest plan, calling it a “Hail Mary solution,” and a “non-starter.” The Save Our GPS Coalition has dozens of hig profile members including major GPS players such as Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) and TomTom, as well as Delta Airlines, FedEx, UPS, Caterpillar, the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

• June 30th, 2011
• Jackson Parker

A 20-year-old college student is suing Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller, after the FBI secretly placed a GPS tracking device under his car without a warrant. The student, Yasir Afifi of San Jose, says the FBI had no reason to consider him a suspect for any type of illegal behavior.

The lawsuit says this was a violation of his civil rights. Afifi, an Egyptian-American, filed the lawsuit in March. He says he’s never done anything to attract law enforcement attention.

The GPS tracking device was found by a mechanic during a routine oil change. Not knowing exactly what the black box was or who had put it there, a friend of Afifi’s posted images of the GPS tracking device on the internet. Two days later, 6 FBI agents showed up at Afifi’s house, demanding their property back. The FBI insisted he immediately return the GPS tracking device.

• June 28th, 2011
• Aurielle Destiche

Corpus Christi police used a GPS tracking system to locate a man who had stolen a truck loaded up with building supplies.

Police say employees at the construction business arrived at work and realized a chain link fence behind the business had been run over and a truck that was loaded with shingles was missing.

Police officers were able to find the stolen vehicle using the GPS tracking system installed inside the truck. Police said they found the truck parked on a local street. Someone had painted over the construction business logo to disguise the stolen truck.

Apparently, the thieves did not realize the vehicle was equipped with a GPS tracking device.