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1/31/2006
XM NavTraffic Service Continues Rapid Expansion With Addition of Nine New MarketsXM Satellite Radio |
XM Satellite Radio, the nation's leading satellite radio service with more than 6 million subscribers, today announced that XM NavTraffic, the first nationwide satellite traffic information service for GPS navigation systems, will add nine U.S. metro markets in the first quarter of 2006. This addition brings the total number of markets covered by XM NavTraffic to 31. XM NavTraffic currently delivers real- time traffic information for drivers in 22 markets from New York to Los Angeles. The award-winning technology was also recently selected as a 2005 "Best Consumer Vehicle Application" by the leading telematics industry organization Telematics Update.
During the first quarter, the XM NavTraffic service, powered by NAVTEQ Traffic, will continue its national expansion with debuts in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver-Boulder, Milwaukee-Racine, Portland, Providence-Warwick- Pawtucket, Sacramento, San Antonio and Wilmington, DE.
Using XM's coast-to-coast satellite signal, the XM NavTraffic service continuously delivers traffic data directly to GPS navigation systems. XM NavTraffic data provides an overlay of color-coded traffic flow information on the map of a navigation system, indicating how fast the traffic is currently moving on a driver's chosen route. Accidents and road construction are identified on the map by icons. XM NavTraffic can show at-a-glance traffic conditions between driver and destination, allowing the driver to route around a jam before getting caught in traffic. The traffic data is aggregated by NAVTEQ Traffic from multiple data sources, including police and emergency services, commercial traffic data providers, road sensors, traffic cameras, eyewitness reports, and real-time aircraft surveillance reports.
XM NavTraffic is a factory-installed feature of all 2006 Acura RL vehicles, and will be available on the all-new 2007 Acura RDX, recently introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Acura was the first automaker to introduce XM NavTraffic service in 2004. General Motors offers XM NavTraffic as a feature for all 2006 Cadillac CTS models equipped with on-board navigation systems. This year, Infiniti will become the third nameplate to introduce factory-installed XM NavTraffic.
XM NavTraffic is also available on a growing number of aftermarket navigation systems. Garmin recently introduced the StreetPilot 2730, the first-ever portable navigation device to feature XM NavTraffic as well as XM Weather and XM Satellite Radio. Partners such as Pioneer Electronics and Alpine also offer XM NavTraffic-compatible systems that can fit virtually any vehicle on the road.
"XM's own engineering team is constantly working with our automotive partners on new ways to improve the consumer driving experience," said Roderick MacKenzie, XM's VP of Advanced Applications and Services. "But we are also working on helping solve some of today's most pressing industry issues. For example, Americans now waste a staggering 2 billion gallons of fuel each year due to traffic congestion -- a statistic that XM NavTraffic aims to help reduce."
The XM NavTraffic service is offered as a premium data service for $3.99 per month when packaged with XM Satellite Radio's subscription of $12.95 a month.
In addition to the nine new markets debuting in the first quarter of 2006, XM NavTraffic is currently available in the following 22 markets: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco/Oakland, San Jose, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington DC.
For more details about the XM NavTraffic service please visit http://www.XMNavTraffic.com.
