Tele Atlas, a provider of digital map databases and real-time traffic information in the United States, and ATX, an independent telematics service provider to the automotive industry, announced that ATX has selected Tele Atlas as a preferred map data vendor to power its telematics services for North America. In addition, Tele Atlas will provide turn-by-turn map data and content to ATX for its expanding operations in Europe. Accoridng to the company, ATX provides personalized telematics services for mobile applications including vRM (vehicle relationship management), automatic collision notification, location-based emergency response and roadside assistance, stolen vehicle recovery, navigation and location-based traffic information. ATX customers include Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Jaguar. Through this agreement, Tele Atlas is one of the preferred map data providers in ATX call centers. Additionally, through ATX's agreement with Mercedes-Benz USA, Tele Atlas data is being used exclusively by Mercedes-Benz USA to enable its Tele Aid roadside assistance service handled out of Mercedes-Benz USA's call centers, says the company. "Telematics offerings delivered to the vehicle through hands-free, interactive voice technology are growing in numbers. Features such as safety, navigation and convenience are becoming widely demanded by automobile owners," said Ron West, executive vice president of sales and marketing of ATX. "Automakers and their customers rely on accurate and reliable content with superior coverage. The reliability and high-quality of Tele Atlas' turn-by-turn digital map data offer exactly what ATX and our customers require." "ATX's selection of Tele Atlas attests to the high-quality and comprehensiveness of our data," said Richard F. Pearlman, vice president of telematics and navigation at Tele Atlas. "We are thrilled to be able demonstrate the benefits of Tele Atlas' turn-by-turn map data for the telematics industry while working with one of the industry's forerunners." ATX says it is offering its telematics services powered by Tele Atlas data immediately. The company also will be able to offer enhanced services that integrate Tele Atlas' turn-by-turn map data with Tele Atlas/Westwood One real-time traffic information to enable real-time traffic notification and robust dynamic rerouting with improved, highly-accurate route guidance. About Tele Atlas
Tele Atlas is a provider of digital maps. Its North American subsidiary is based in Menlo Park, California. The company says it enables its customers' successes through leadership in delivering both digital maps and real-time traffic information for business and consumer applications. Tele Atlas focuses on providing content to key market sectors including Telematics/Automotive Navigation, Location Based Services (LBS), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). For more information on Tele Atlas products and services, please visit www.na.teleatlas.com. About ATX
ATX is headquartered in Dallas-Fort Worth. ATX provides services based upon the integration of wireless connectivity, micro-processing, real-time data generation and interactive speech recognition technology within the vehicle. For vehicle owners, these services include automatic collision notification, location-based roadside assistance, stolen vehicle recovery, navigation and other location-based information services. The company also says it pioneered vRM (vehicle relationship management), which aggregates real-time data from telematics-equipped vehicles to help automakers and their affiliated dealerships reduce costs, increase customer retention and loyalty, and generate revenue. ATX customers include Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Jaguar. For more information, visit www.atxna.com.