Skip to main content

Verizon plans to launch off-the-shelf telematics

‘Bringing connectivity to every vehicle’ was the vision Lowell McAdam (pictured), chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications put before delegates at the second plenary session. He said by 2017 there will be three times more networked devices than people in the world and such connectivity could radically alter transportation. “GE estimates that connected technologies have the potential to reduce the global transportation industry’s demand for fuel by 14%.”
September 10, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

‘Bringing connectivity to every vehicle’ was the vision Lowell McAdam (pictured), chairman and CEO of 1984 Verizon Communications put before delegates at the second plenary session.

He said by 2017 there will be three times more networked devices than people in the world and such connectivity could radically alter transportation. “GE estimates that connected technologies have the potential to reduce the global transportation industry’s demand for fuel by 14%.”

However, he said today Americans waste $120bn a year sitting in traffic, 30% of a city’s congestion is caused by people looking to park and only 7% of America’s 250 million vehicles are connected to communications networks.
 
McAdam told delegates: “At Verizon, we think the technology exists… to connect the vast majority of these vehicles to a wide range of intelligent services. We are committed to delivering an off-the-shelf solution that will bring the benefits of telematics to everyone next year.”  While acknowledging the work already undertaken he said: “we need to move beyond individual projects to think in a holistic way about integrating all these smart systems – connected cars, roads, buildings, power grids and communications – into a comprehensive intelligent ecosystem.” 

In pointing out President Obama’s comments that the US is the world’s largest economy but ranks 28th in terms of infrastructure investment, he issued a rallying call. “We have some decisions to make about how to invest in our future… and we’ve learned that investing in last century’s infrastructure may be cheaper in the short run but it’s way more costly in the long run.
“We need to fight for spectrum policies and tax laws that promote capital investment in the communications technologies on which intelligent transportation systems depend,” he concluded.

www.verizon.com

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Siemens highlights mobility solutions of tomorrow at Intertraffic
    March 24, 2014
    Get ready for an industry-changing announcement on the Siemens stand at 2pm this afternoon. Until then, the company is being tight-lipped about what will be unveiled, but what is promised is “a ground-breaking Siemens innovation, which will change the rules of the game in urban traffic control”.
  • Measurement Specialities’ Roadtrax BL sensor keeps rolling
    March 24, 2014
    In an industry that prides itself on continual innovation, Measurement Specialities is at Intertraffic quietly celebrating 25 years of its hugely successful Roadtrax BL piezoelectric axle sensor. Installed in 65 countries across six continents, the sensor continues to enjoy sales growth of nearly 10% a year and the firm’s team see no reason why the product won’t have another 25 years life in it. “While our main markets are countries in the developed world, we are seeing a lot of applications in the devel
  • Prime Minister’s ‘roads revolution’ good news for industry
    November 11, 2014
    Responding to the UK Prime Minister’s announcement which outlined a ‘roads revolution,’ the Freight Transport Association (FTA) has said that plans to deliver roads improvements across the country are good news for the freight and logistics industry. David Cameron stated that plans for the biggest road building programme for almost half a century will be unveiled in next month's Autumn Statement and would contain a US$24 billion overhaul of 100 of Britain's busiest roads and motorways by the end of the
  • Intertraffic introduction to Tönnjes’ technology
    March 24, 2014
    The Tönnjes Group is displaying its latest range of licence plate and windscreen labels with an integrated RFID-chip. Vehicle-specific data in the IDePLATE and IDeSTIX can be read by a variety of fixed and mobile radio devices. Visitors to the company’s stand will also be able to view its IDeTRUST software system for vehicle registration and verification and can enable verification via smartphones and other connected devices.