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| February
19, 2003 |
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Telcontar and Televoke Merge to Create a Leader for Powering Location-Based Services |
Combined Company to Offer LBS Providers
the Fastest, Safest, and Most Cost Effective
Path to Market
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San
Jose, Calif. and San Francisco, Calif.
- February 19, 2003 -
Telcontar, the provider of the premier
software platform for location-based services
(LBS), and telematics software company
Televoke today announced that the two
companies are merging to create a leading
supplier of software and related services
for powering location-based services in
the United States and Europe. Telcontar's
spatial software platform will now be
coupled with Televoke's Automated User
Interface to enable customers to produce
powerful mobile safety, security and convenience
(MSSC) services. MSSC services include
applications that enable notification,
tracking, and control of commercial and
personal assets, such as fleet tracking
and vehicle theft retrieval. Telcontar
will continue to enhance its Drill Down
Server™ to support complete LBS applications,
such as those developed by its current
customers including ATX Technologies,
Hutchison 3G, Motorola, Rand-McNally,
Pharos, and Yahoo!
"Telcontar is thrilled to close this deal
and is confident the company is well positioned
for long-term, rapid growth," said Eric
Carlson, president and CEO, Telcontar.
"By combining our product lines, professional
services staff, and engineering talent,
Telcontar will be able to offer the complete
range of ASP or licensed products and
services required to power any LBS solution
with reduced cost and complexity. The
company is also in a strong financial
position thanks to the new funding from
existing investors including Mobius Venture
Capital, Cardinal Ventures and W.I. Harper."
The merged company will be known as Telcontar
and continue to be headquartered in the
company's downtown San Jose offices. Televoke's
San Francisco offices will become a product
development center. The Telcontar management
team will remain in place with Doug Daniels
of Televoke filling the vice president
of sales position and Televoke Cofounder
Rick Bentley becoming vice president of
business development.
"The key to becoming a successful vendor
for telematics and location-based solutions
lies in offering a broad suite of products
and capabilities. Potential clients are
looking for a holistic solution that can
provide specific applications in conjunction
with the required technology to launch
telematics and location-based services
rapidly in various segments. Companies
that join forces to establish this competence
will be more successful than others and
accelerate the pace of the overall market
development. We expect to see more of
this type of activity over the next 18
months as the telematics and location-based
services markets mature," said Thilo Koslowski,
Lead Analyst and Director of Automotive
Research, Gartner G2.
Another important asset Telcontar brings
to its customers is a list of industry
leading partners that can help them to
create a complete value chain of point
technology providers. From hardware vendors
and content suppliers, to billing, communications
and emergency services, Telcontar's partners
are the most trusted in LBS. These include
Aeris.net, CSI Wireless, Criticom International
Corp., Motorola, Navigation Technologies,
Qualcomm, TeleAtlas, Trafficast and WirelessCar.
"By joining forces with Telcontar, our
company will be able to offer customers
the very best in terms of the quality
and breadth of its product offerings.
The new company hopes to help accelerate
the emergence of a 'mass market' for telematics
and mobile safety and security services,"
said Rick Bentley, cofounder of Televoke.
"As a strategic partner of Telcontar,
we are very pleased with this alliance
because Telcontar brings scalability to
the Televoke platform," added Raymond
J. Menard, senior vice president of development,
Criticom. "This is an end-to-end
merger where the recognized leader in
two related fields combine to deliver
unmatched features, performance and market
presence. We are pleased that Criticom
can partner with such a strong industry
player."
About Telcontar
Telcontar is the provider of the premier
software platform for location-based services.
Telcontar's clients use its Drill Down
Server™ and Traffic Manager™
products to offer their own customers
such services as driving directions, real-time
traffic information, and maps. The company's
services are also used by emergency response
call centers as well as for fleet tracking
and dispatch. The company specializes
in integrating digital maps with content
drawn from multiple sources. Telcontar
is privately held and headquartered in
San Jose, California with field offices
in Los Angeles, Houston, and the United
Kingdom.
About Televoke, Inc.
Televoke "connects people to things" by
providing an automated web and telephony
service platform that enables individuals
and enterprises to track and control valuable
assets. For the first time, businesses
and their customers can be proactively
notified via phone, pager, or email when
a valuable fixed or mobile asset is at
risk. The Televoke service platform can
be integrated with virtually any enterprise
system, hardware device, GPS or other
location technology, wireless or wire
line network. Televoke was named by CNET
as a "Top Ten" private wireless company
to watch in 2001.
# # #
TRADEMARKS: Telcontar and Drill Down
Server are trademarks or registered trademarks
of Telcontar. All other product names
are trademarks or registered trademarks
of their respective holders.
Company Information Contact:
Cassie Stevenson, (415) 533-2720
cstevenson@telcontar.com |
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