Dec 06/Jan 07

Unlimited free vehicle tracking with no strings - that's the remarkable proposition on offer from a new GPS-based tracking service called LocateA.net. It's aimed primarily at the courier market, but is by no means limited to this. Proprietor Alec Crawford told us it could also appeal to hauliers, taxi firms and even the general public.

Crawford heads a Cheltenham-based online courier business called CouriersOnCall.co.uk, and wanted to set up a tracking system for the company's 300-plus self-employed couriers, but found many were unwilling to pay for commercial tracking systems. His solution was to set up his own and provide it free of charge.

"quot;There's no catch,"quot; he insists. "quot;It's genuinely free."quot; Moreover, it's not limited to CouriersOnCall; anyone can subscribe. Users do need to have a GPRS-enabled mobile phone and account, and also need a GPS unit (which can be had for about £30), but there are currently no other charges.

Once registered, users upload a small software application to their mobiles, and each unit can then be tracked as often as once a minute. Their location is shown on an online map (currently it uses the Google Earth map engine with Tele Atlas mapping). They can keep their own units' whereabouts private, or allow positions to be seen on a public Web page.

 

Crawford points out that to avoid incurring hefty data charges users need to choose a mobile service provider offering unlimited GPRS traffic. This is the key to the no-charge element. "quot;Currently that means T-Mobile,"quot; he says, "quot;but within a year I believe consumer pressure will prompt most of the other mobile networks into offering it too."quot;

The service is hosted on the company's own server, and development has been shared between the company itself and a Canadian software developer.

New features are being added all the time - the latest being the ability to display courier jobs available and empty vans on the same map, theoretically giving users an instant picture of potential jobs.

Other sophistications include an automatic "quot;snail trail"quot; feature, in which details are held online for about a month. Users can download the data to a text file and display the trail in Autoroute.

Once the service has built up a head of steam, Crawford aims to start funding it with advertising and other services, and one might speculate that a more robust revenue model might eventually emerge. Currently, though, he remains committed to the concept of a service that is genuinely free at the point of delivery.

If it catches on, the whole vehicle tracking market may have to sit up and take notice.