Snaptrack scores, Does Trimble get anything out of it?
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 17, 1998--Japan's largest wireless communications provider, NTT DoCoMo, has licensed SnapTrack's groundbreaking client-server wireless location determination technology. This agreement brings together NTT DoCoMo's world-class expertise in developing cutting-edge wireless services and SnapTrack's innovative location technology to provide Japanese consumers the most advanced personal navigation system in the world.
With plans to have the technology incorporated into multiple wireless devices, NTT DoCoMo intends to use SnapTrack's breakthrough wireless location technology to offer a series of location-based services ranging from directions to mobile yellow pages. SnapTrack combines the Global Positioning System (GPS), the worldis best navigation system, and a wireless telecommunications infrastructure to deliver accurate, cost-effective location.
"We have built our customer base by identifying and developing new services to address user needs in mobile communications, and we believe wireless location determination will fulfill an emerging demand in the Japanese marketplace," said Masato Mori, Executive Manager of NTT DoCoMo. "This relationship with SnapTrack is part of our strategic effort to provide the most complete package of mobile communications services for our nearly 20 million subscribers."
The agreement with NTT DoCoMo gives SnapTrack a unique opportunity to license its cellular-aided GPS technology to one of the world's largest wireless network providers, capitalizing on the tremendous growth of Japanis wireless telecommunications market. At June, 1998, Japan had more than 40 million wireless communications subscribers, with NTT DoCoMo having 48 percent share, according to recently published figures.
"This is the first time anywhere in the world that a technology for locating portable wireless devices has been commercialized by a carrier," said Steve Poizner, SnapTrack president. "The safety and productivity of Japanese wireless subscribers can now be significantly enhanced by the addition of our cellular-aided GPS system." |
