Mediamobile includes TomTom traffic data to boost Germany's first Digital Radio traffic service

Stuttgart, June 17th, 2013: Today Mediamobile announced the signing of a new partnership agreement with TomTom, one of the world’s leading suppliers of navigation products and services. Under the agreement, TomTom will provide the company’s highly accurate traffic content to Mediamobile, and thus contribute to the first nationwide traffic service to be broadcast over Germany’s digital radio network: Mediamobile’s V-Traffic Premium DAB.
The V-Traffic service is regarded as an important milestone in establishing digital radio as a new traffic data delivery channel for the automotive and consumer electronics industries in Germany and Europe.














Now German motorists can look forward to receiving traffic information over a data channel with 400 times the capacity of traditional RDS-TMC services. The information is transmitted directly to motorists’ navigation or infotainment systems, helping them travel smarter, save fuel and drive safely. The service is offered on a lifetime basis – a value-for-money proposition with no additional subscription or connection costs on top of the initial fee included in the equipment purchase price. “The partnership with TomTom brings us the best digital traffic content available in Germany and allows Mediamobile to offer a premium service to German drivers through the latest DAB digital broadcast technology,” explained Andrew Nash, European Sales Director, Mediamobile.

“We are very pleased to provide Mediamobile with our highly accurate TomTom Traffic information. Our partnership sets a new standard for traffic information in the German market,” added Ralf-Peter Schäfer, Vice President Traffic Product Unit & Fellow at TomTom. “It also enables us to broaden the reach of our world-class TomTom Traffic content even further.”

DAB technology – bringing high-quality services to the general public

Mediamobile’s state-of-the-art V-Traffic Premium DAB traffic service is broadcast live over Germany’s DAB network using the TPEG* protocol. The service has two key components: Traffic Alerts (TEC) informs drivers of events such as accidents, road closures and roadworks, and Traffic Flow Information (TFP) provides accurate vehicle travel speed information covering 190,000 kilometres of Germany’s major roads.
The V-Traffic Premium DAB service takes full advantage of the highest quality data available from TomTom. Mediamobile traffic experts analyse the content from TomTom and other providers, then process and quality-check the data to create the best possible traffic service. More content and services will be added to Mediamobile’s German DAB offering in the near future.
V-Traffic Premium DAB benefits from a data capacity 400 times greater than traditional RDS-TMC services, delivering information-rich content equivalent to that of connected traffic services on mobile networks. For motorists, this means richer, more accurate traffic information. The service reports more traffic events, identifies new types of events, and is capable of pinpointing events to within 100 metres. This enables drivers to prepare their journeys more efficiently, finding the best routes based on traffic conditions and estimating arrival times much more precisely.
DAB+ digital broadcast technology offers a number of advantages, including the ability to carry very large amounts of information fast and reliably – and without network saturation issues – to millions of vehicles simultaneously. This means Mediamobile can offer a premium lifetime** service to end-users that does not require additional subscription, connection or roaming charges.
Mediamobile’s traffic information will be broadcast in Germany by sister company Media Broadcast, and will reach more than 73% of the country’s major roads by the end of 2013.

Mediamobile to launch DAB traffic services across Europe

Mediamobile’s recent entry into the German market is part of a broader strategy. Not only does the company plan to offer the best service at the national level, Mediamobile is also planning to provide a reliable pan-European service to automotive and equipment manufacturers, as well as aftermarket suppliers.
Mediamobile’s ambition is to be at the forefront of the technology shift from analogue (RDS-TMC) to digital radio (DAB-TPEG). The company already broadcasts DAB services in Norway, is running test services in Poland, and plans to launch V-Traffic DAB services in other European countries. Mediamobile also supports partners in Benelux, Italy and the UK with the aim of offering the most comprehensive traffic service offering in Europe.
Meet Mediamobile at Telematics Update’s Content and Apps for Automotive Europe, 18-19 June in Munich, where Andrew Nash, Mediamobile’s European Sales Director, will be speaking.

Media contacts:

Agneta Ronceret – agneta.ronceret@mediamobile.com T +33 1 58 68 60 95
Eric Le Yavanc – eric.leyavanc@skywritepr.com T +33 1 43 12 55 47

Sales contact:

Carsten Friedrich, German Account Director, Mediamobile – carsten.friedrich@mediamobile.com
*TPEG: a protocol defined by TISA for delivering traffic and mobility information and other content to end-users. The protocol is language and platform independent, and supports various location referencing methods.
** For the lifetime of the vehicle and as long as the service is operating in the country.
About Mediamobile and V-Traffic
Mediamobile is part of leading European broadcaster TDF Group, and the foremost real-time traffic information services operator in France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Poland. Mediamobile’s clients include automotive manufacturers who provide traffic information services via on-board navigation systems, as well as GPS system manufacturers. Mediamobile’s services are also available via mobile phone operators’ mobile portals and navigation applications. Mediamobile services are marketed under the V-Traffic brand: for more details, visit www.v-traffic.com and www.mediamobile.com/en
About TomTom
Founded in 1991, TomTom (TOM2) is a leading provider of navigation and location-based products and services. TomTom maps, traffic information and navigation technology power automotive in-dash systems, mobile devices, web based applications and government and business solutions. TomTom also designs and manufactures its own location-based products including portable navigation devices and fleet management solutions, as well as GPS-enabled sports watches. Headquartered in Amsterdam, TomTom has 3,500 employees worldwide and sells its products in over 35 countries. For further information, please visit www.tomtom.com