Trimble To Acquire Transporeon for $1.98 Billion
Combines European product with Trimble’s North American carrier-focused platform
Expert nationwide installation services for fleet technologies.
In one of the largest fleet management transactions this year, Trimble TRMB 0.00%↑ this week agreed to acquire Germany-based Transporeon for $1.98 billion. The deal, an all-cash transaction with Transporeon’s largest shareholder Hg, allows Trimble to have access to 145,000 carriers and logistics service providers and 1,400 shippers through its Europe-based transportation management platform.
Transporeon, with 1,000 employees, generates $130 million in sales each year, with core earnings of $37 million. The company’s open platform, which includes real-time tracking, integrates with more than 3,000 global (enterprise resource planning) and transportation management systems.
“Transporeon is a leading market player with a large TAM, profitable growth and a platform focused on connected supply chain infrastructure, all of which are highly aligned with Trimble’s Connect & Scale strategy,” said Rob Painter, Trimble CEO, in a statement.
The deal with Transporeon, expected to close in the first half of 2023, gives Trimble a company that may generate 190 million euro in revenue next year, the company said. In addition to a strong European footprint, Trimble will benefit from recurring transactional revenue, the company said.
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Google Integrates Waze Employees with Geo Organization
Google GOOG 0.00%↑ last week said it plans to merge its Geo staff with that of the company’s 500-employee Waze navigation app group, according to The Wall Street Journal. Google, which acquired Waze nearly 10 years ago, said it was under pressure to reduce costs and be more productive by merging “overlapping product areas.”
Google’s Geo group, led by Christopher Phillips, oversees its Maps, Earth and Street View product lines. For its part, Waze will see its CEO, Neha Parikh, exit after a transition period, according to reports. Google said doesn’t plan any layoffs and will operate Waze as a stand-alone service.
Following a regulatory review, Google acquired Waze in 2013 for $1.1 billion. At the time, it was the largest location company purchase, rivaling 2007 when TomTom [Tom2] purchased Tele Atlas and Nokia NOK 0.00%↑bought Navteq, which became HERE Technologies.
At the time, Mike Dobson, TeleMapics president, said that Google bought Waze, rather than TomTom and HERE Technologies, because of quality issues. “I think the answer to this question is quite plain. Google did not participate in either acquisition because it had tried both companies’ data and found that the content quality and spatial coverage was not quite what Google had set as goals when developing its strategy for mapping,” he said. “Instead, Google built its own ‘map machine’ and has managed to out-innovate either of these companies over the last several years.”
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It’s Over: Last 3G Network Closes Dec. 31
It’s the end of an era as Verizon VZ 0.00%↑ will close the last 3G network on Dec. 31. The 3G networks once allowed millions of passenger cars, trucks and buses to offer emergency, convenience and navigation features.
AT&T T 0.00%↑ started to phase out its 3G network in February. T-Mobile TMUS 0.00%↑closed the Sprint 3G network on March 31 and Sprint LTE on June 30. In addition, the company closed its T-Mobile 3G on July 1.
3G-connected vehicles will lose their automatic crash notification and other features. According to one account, more than 10 percent of public school buses could lose GPS signals and other communications.
For fleets, it means loss of vehicle connect and driving data for companies that did not upgrade telematics services. Many of these companies, because of the pandemic, delayed software and hardware upgrades.
However, such companies as ClearPathGPS completed all 3G migrations for every carrier. “We’ve had everyone done since March 2022. We’ve received calls from numerous Verizon customers who have not heard any updates on the transition and are concerned they will be left behind,” said Steve Wells, ClearPathGPS founder and CRO. “We’ve also seen Verizon clients use the shutdown as leverage to get out of their contracts. This seems most prevalent in the smaller customers.”
The 3G shutdown affected millions of vehicle models—from 2010 through 2019. However, one company worked with its customers to offer transition solutions.
“Our Audi 3G sunset solution is doing great. We also launched for a portion of Volkswagen vehicles,” said Kenny Hawk, Mojio CEO. “Customers love the way Audi is taking care of them and making sure them and their families are safe and connected—even though the 3G network has been shut down. Our OEM grade solution is easy to install cost effective and has a great user experience.”
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Other Location News:
News tip? Send them to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
Top News:
🙁 Apple Is Being Sued Over Alleged AirTag Stalking. “The lawsuit said that despite Apple's AAPL 0.00%↑attempts to enhance privacy and security, AirTags are easily used for nefarious purposes.”
Space:
🛰 Focus on Commercial Use of NavIC, ISRO's Future Satellites To Get Additional Frequency. “The L1 frequency will increase the use of the regional navigation system in wearable devices and personal trackers that use low-power, single-frequency chips.”
✔ IPhone 14 Emergency SOS via Satellite Rolls Out To United Kingdom, France, Germany and Ireland. “Emergency SOS via satellite allows iPhone 14 users to send short emergency text messages, in places where Wi-Fi and cellular service is unavailable.”
Maps:
😮 Google Maps Now Sending Users in the Middle of Nowhere - That’s Why We Need Other Apps. Editor: Why does this publication hate Google Maps?
👍 Interior Ministry Holds Demonstration for Indoor Navigation System. “The project for indoor navigation of complex building structures has been led by a research team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) since March of this year, as part of the government’s efforts to develop new address-based services.”
👏 Esri Collaborates with Geneva Demining Center on Explosives Mapping Technology. “Esri and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining will use GIS technology to map explosive ordnance to more precisely clear it and ultimately help people return to their homes and use their land safely.”
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles
🤞 Waymo Seeks Permit To Sell Self-driving Car Rides in San Francisco. “Alphabet’s GOOG 0.00%↑ Waymo has applied for the final permit it needs in California before it can sell fully autonomous rides.”
👌 Lidar Companies Innoviz and Outsight Partner. Innoviz Technologies INVZ 0.00%↑ partners with Outsight's Spatial Intelligence Software, the company's unique, real-time edge processing and cloud capability platform.
🛺 AT&T to Connect Polaris Off-Road Vehicles in North America. “Polaris has chosen AT&T T 0.00%↑ to connect select off-road 2023 models in North America through the RIDE COMMAND+ Plug-In Accessory device.”
🚗 AWS, Visteon Team Up on Vehicle Connected Services Platform. “Visteon announced a collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) that it says will deliver Visteon’s AllGo connected vehicle technology using AWS’ cloud capabilities.”
Drones:
🛩Nokia, Rohde & Schwarz to Trial Drone-based Network Measurement. “Nokia NOK 0.00%↑ and Rohde & Schwarz have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to embed QualiPoc 4.9G/LTE and 5G network measurement capabilities into the Nokia Drone Networks platform.”
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Location Industry Briefs
Send your news releases to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
Location Business News at CES
Location Business News will be onsite at CES in Las Vegas from Jan. 3 to Jan. 7, 2023. Interview requests are filling up. Contact Kevin Dennehy at kdennehy@driverlessreport.com to schedule an interview/product demonstration.
Globalstar Signs Commercial Agreement with Wiagro
Globalstar GSAT 0.00%↑is supplying Argentina-based Wiagro with 2,500 ST100 IoT satellite modem transmitters for their Smart Silobag remote ag monitoring solution. Financial details were not disclosed. The Smart Silobag is used during the post-harvest process to increase efficiency during storage and transport, the company said.
Contact: Denise Davila, Globalstar, investorrelations@globalstar.com
U-blox’s ANT-B11 Is Smallest Bluetooth Direction Finding Antenna Board
Thalwil, Switzerland-based u-blox [UBXN] has the introduced ANT-B11, the smallest Bluetooth Direction Finding Angle-of-Arrival (AoA) antenna board in production, the company said. The board delivers direction finding and 2D indoor positioning.
ANT‑B11 can be integrated into commercial tracking solutions for direction-finding applications and indoor positioning in mid-size spaces, the company said. First samples of the ANT-B11 antenna board will be available early 2023.
Contact: Natacha Seitz, u-blox, 41 76 436 0788, natacha.seitz@u-blox.com, www.u-blox.com.
PTV Group Integrates Planning Software Into Logistics Portfolio
PTV Group has announced the integration of Conundra’s route planning software into its global logistics portfolio. The integration includes Conundra’s SAAS product with PTV’s software solutions for route planning and optimization.
PTV Group is focusing on two markets--one in intelligent traffic simulation and management and one in logistics route optimization. Financial details were not disclosed.
Contact: Stefanie Schmidt, PTV Group, 49-721-9651-7451, stefanie.schmidt@ptvgroup.com, www.ptvgroup.com.
Verizon Achieves Canadian ELD Certification
Verizon Business today announced that the Verizon Connect Fleet Platform has obtained Canadian Electronic Logging Device (ELD) certification from a third-party organization. Integrated with the Verizon Connect fleet management system, the ELD solution now provides customers with compliance with the new hours of service (HOS) regulations in Canada.
Contact: Erin Cheever, erin.dowling@verizon.com, www.verizon.com.
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Xona Issued Patent on LEO PNT Technology
Xona Space Systems has announced the issuance of US Patent No. 11,513,232, entitled, “Satellite for Broadcasting High Precision Data.” This patent describes a high-performance, space-based position, navigation, and timing (PNT) system enabled by a constellation of low-Earth-orbiting (LEO) satellites.
This architecture is the backbone of Xona PULSAR – a navigation and timing service that offers PNT accuracy, security, and availability for end users, the company said.
Contact: Xona Space Systems, info@xonaspacesystems.com, www.xonaspacesystems.com.
IPVideo Acquires Fleet Tracking Company Vuro Technologies
IPVideo Corp. has acquired the assets of Vuro Technologies, an AI-enabled driver and fleet vehicle monitoring and safety company. The technology will be rebranded as VuroAI and complements IPVideo Corporation's product portfolio, the company said. VuroAI employs IoT and AI technology to monitor driver behavior, in-vehicle performance and real-time GPS tracking.
Contact: Rick Cadiz, IPVideo, (631) 675.2213, rcadiz@ipvideocorp.com.
ESMART Installs Solution in 400 Schuster Trucks
E-SMART has partnered with Schuster Co. to bring E-SMART’s technology to Schuster's fleet of more than 400 trucks. E-SMART's technology decreases speeding events by up to 88 percent, the company said.
The deployment was achieved in three months, the company said. The E-SMART solution uses GPS technology to determine vehicle and identify known hazard areas such as low clearance bridges.
Contact: Callie Myers, cmyers@esmartcontrol.com, www.esmartcontrol.com.
OCTO Opens Japan Subsidiary
Rome-based OCTO Telematics has announced the opening of a new office in Tokyo, Japan. The company was already present in Japan with a commercial partnership with insurance company Tokio Marine. The company has offices in Boston, London, Paris, Madrid, Stuttgart, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Contact: Adriana Zambon, OCTO Telematics, 39 339.3995640.
Axim Partners With Maptelligent Indoor Map Applications
Axim Geospatial has partnered with Maptelligent GIS services to offer indoor map applications, as part of its building information solution set. Axim Geospatial will manage building data and provide customized services using Esri products, scanning, building information modeling (BIM), photogrammetry, project management applications, and asset management applications.
Contact: Rich Ziccardi, Maptelligent, (516) 317-2699, info@maptelligent.com, www.maptelligent.com.
People
Noted industry journalist Dee Ann Divis, 62, died Nov. 22, 2022, in Arlington, Va. Divis was an editor for Inside GNSS, Al Jazeera, the Washington Examiner, United Press International and many other news organizations. Recently, she was the editor of Navigation Outlook.
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