Real Time Traffic Information with TomTom, Vodafone, Netherlands
In 2007, Vodafone and the Dutch navigation systems company TomTom launched a service in the Netherlands that uses mobile phone signals sent from vehicles in traffic jams to enable a real-time travel information service.
Mobile phones continuously beam signals to their nearest base stations, which gives the network provider the approximate location of the phone. TomTom uses this location information to establish congestion levels on particular roads, the likely delay and then to suggest alternative routes. The service provides a more accurate, faster and more detailed picture of actual travel times than solutions that use roadside equipment, for lower total investment. Similar systems are being launched by TomTom and Vodafone in other countries.
