Seattle, United States
Airbiquity Inc. today announced a contract with Ford Motor Company to provide its VIAaq Software as a Service offering to the automaker's SYNC in-vehicle communications system.
Ford SYNC - developed with Microsoft - connects people and their portable devices in the vehicle, including media players and Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones. The technology is available today on 12 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles and is on track to reach 1 million sales in early 2009. Later this year, SYNC will be offered exclusively on nearly every new Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicle.
Ford selected Airbiquity's aqLink product and VIAaq service because of Airbiquity's proven reliability in the global telematics market. "Our partnership with Ford represents a key milestone for Airbiquity's VIAaq communication service," says Kamyar Moinzadeh, president and CEO for Airbiquity. "Ford's use of our software with SYNC further demonstrates our ability to provide reliable, practical communications solutions that address needs of today's drivers and provide the infrastructure necessary to respond to technology needs in the future."
Using Airbiquity's patented aqLink wireless data communications technology, VIAaq provides an end-to-end communication system for the automotive and portable navigation device (PND) industries. The technology allows for seamless data transfer, including vehicle diagnostics, between telematics service providers and the vehicle using cellular voice networks and Bluetooth connections to the driver's own cell phone rather than relying on conventional data channels. This approach to data transfer translates into broader coverage areas and a reduced overall cost of entry for automakers and PND suppliers that offer products enabled with Bluetooth technology.
VIAaq also provides access to a variety of telematics service providers and hosts support for those services. In this way, VIAaq eliminates operations and maintenance expenses associated with hosting or managing an independent data center, lowering the overall cost of entry into the telematics arena. VIAaq's adaptive service also provides a flexible architecture to allow for expanded service offerings as mobile technologies grow and change over time.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 260,000 employees and about 100 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and Mazda. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.fordvehicles.com.
About Airbiquity Inc.
Airbiquity provides wireless data communications solutions that enable product suppliers and service providers in the M2M and telematics industries to deliver reliable and ubiquitous wireless data services. Used by some of the largest automotive manufacturers globally in their telematics service offerings, Airbiquity's patented aqLink technology provides data communications over digital wireless voice networks. VIAaq, Airbiquity's turnkey managed Telematics data service, provides seamless connectivity between telematics service providers and a vehicle or PND device for a relatively low cost of entry. To learn more about Airbiquity, please visit their web site www.airbiquity.com.
Airbiquity, aqLink and VIAaq are trademarks of Airbiquity Inc. SYNC is a trademark of the Ford Motor Company.
Source: Business Wire (Business Wire India)