Jan/Feb 2009

Trafficmaster has launched a digital traffic broadcast service in the UK, working in partnership with Digital One, the organisation responsible for transmitting all DAB digital radio across the country.

The company says its digital service will offer DAB-compliant navigation systems access to better-quality and more reliable traffic flow information, including details of emergency incidents and road works. This should allow drivers to receive enhanced routing instructions and more accurate delay times.

The new service supports the full TPEG standard developed by the Traveller Information Services Association (TISA). The initials stand for Transport Protocol Experts Group, and the standard is essentially a data protocol for delivering travel content to end users without regard to location or equipment type in use.

Trafficmaster's traffic information is collated from the organisation's nationwide traffic monitoring network, which covers 95 per cent of the UK's motorways and trunk roads. The new digital service is available on a commercial basis to UK automotive manufacturers and providers of personal navigation systems.

The digital traffic broadcast system is also supported by the Digital Radio Development Bureau (DRDB), a trade body that has been set up to encourage digital radio's wide accessibility and swift adoption in the UK.

Digital One is a joint venture backed by Global Radio and Arqiva. It was awarded the sole UK national multiplex licence for DAB digital radio in 1998, and started broadcasting in November 1999 under a renewable 12-year licence from the Radio Authority (now Ofcom).