NAVTEQ, a leading global provider of digital map data for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, announced a multi-year extension of its agreement to provide real time and historic traffic information to Microsoft Corporation.
NAVTEQ Traffic remains Microsoft Corp.’s preferred provider of traffic information for its web properties and the agreement extends Microsoft’s right to use NAVTEQ’s traffic data in online products and services, desktop and mobile applications and appliances.
Microsoft’s MSN Direct service, Streets & Trips desktop applications, Windows Live Local, Microsoft Automotive and Live Search for Windows Mobile services use NAVTEQ Traffic data today and this multi-year strategic extension of the Microsoft relationship provides for incorporation of NAVTEQ Traffic data in additional Microsoft products.
NAVTEQ Traffic(TM) powers automotive manufacturers’, in-vehicle service providers’, Web and wireless application developers’ as well as television and radio broadcaster solutions with real-time flow, incident and construction data for 77 U.S. and Canadian DMAs (Designated Market Areas). The company has more than 500 dedicated employees located in Operations Centers across the country who gather and report incidents as they occur in real time along with the impact of weather and planned incidents like scheduled roadwork. In addition, up-to-the-minute traffic flow information, including average speed, delays and drive time information for the nation’s busiest roadways gives drivers an edge in planning routes and rerouting to avoid congestion.
NAVTEQ Traffic Patterns includes typical traffic flow conditions on more than 750,000 miles of roadway across the U.S. and Canada. The product’s day of the week and day part model enables more precise routing and trip time estimations based on conditions normally experienced for a given day of the week and time of day.
NAVTEQ’s leading traffic information is due to the wide variety of sources, including proprietary and government sensors, GPS and vehicle-based probes, toll tag data and historical traffic patterns that are combined and prioritized by the company’s unique data engine.
“NAVTEQ has worked closely with Microsoft for many years to support its creation of innovative products that use our map data. We are pleased to extend the range of products that use our traffic data. MSN Direct and Windows Live Local already demonstrate Microsoft’s creativity in regards to use of our data. These and other Microsoft traffic products require the high quality and robust coverage of NAVTEQ’s traffic data," said John MacLeod, Executive Vice President for NAVTEQ. "This broadened agreement is symbolic of the collaboration our two companies have enjoyed in the past and will continue to strengthen."
"NAVTEQ brings a commitment to traffic data innovation that Microsoft shares," said Erik Jorgensen, General Manager for Virtual Earth and Live Search Maps at Microsoft. "Its traffic information brings the most accurate real-time and historical data and, when combined with our own proprietary content, represents some of the most compelling traffic offerings on the Web."