geo-vision helps put toyota on mainland map
With major players China Telecom, China Netcom, China Mobile and China Unicom dominating the huge mainland telecoms market, tiny player China Satellite Communications rarely garners a mention.
But Satecom, as the young company established in 2001 is known, is looking to change that, starting with the ITU Telecom World conference held in Hong Kong this December. The firm sees ITU as a chance to spread its name in the wider telecoms community.
Satecom, as the name implies, provides satellite-based broadcasting, global positioning system (GPS) and other audio, data and multimedia services.
A subsidiary, Geo-Vision, originally named China SiWei Surveying and Mapping Technology, is tapping into a new, thriving market - cars.
Earful has learned Geo-Vision, which has a large archive of digital maps of mainland cities and provinces, has recently struck a deal with Toyota to provide digital maps for GPS systems pre-installed in Toyota vehicles. The system will go into 'tens of thousands' of cars every year, and Geo-Vision is in talks with other carmakers.
Geo-Vision's GPS system has also been installed in taxis in Shandong province as part of a control system for better fleet management and security.
