Tele Atlas

Tele Atlas is a Netherlands-based company founded in 1984 which delivers digital maps and other dynamic content for navigation and location-based services, including personal and in-car navigation systems, and provides data used in a wide range of mobile and Internet map applications. Since 30 July 2008, the company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of automotive navigation system manufacturer TomTom.[4]

Tele Atlas NV
TypeWholly owned subsidiary
IndustryGeographic information systems
Founded1984
Headquarters's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands (corporate)
Ghent, Belgium (operational)
ProductsDigital mapping data
Revenue€308.0 million (2007)[1]
Increase €25.0 million (2007)[1]
Increase €24.4 million (2007)[1]
Number of employees
1,889 (2007)[1][2][3]
ParentTomTom
Websitetomtom.com

Operations

The company provides maps, some sourced from other mapping companies, covering two hundred countries around the world,[5] providing mapping data and "Map Enhancement Products" such as points of interest and address points. Clients of Tele Atlas include makers of automotive navigation systems as well as mobile and internet companies which provide mapping services. The firm also supplies data to clients in the public and private sectors who rely on geographic information.

Mapping vans
Mapper van with cameras visible on the top of the vehicle and the hard drives cabinet in the customized rear seat.

The company keeps its data up-to-date in part through a fleet of dozens of mapping vans equipped with "six cameras, two side-sweeping lasers and a GPS navigation device."[6] The vans capture about three photos per second while traveling at normal speeds, resulting in more than 100 million images per year from each van; the images are stored on one of two hard disk drives within a metal cabinet inside the van, drives that hold about two weeks of data.[6] Meanwhile, the 3-D scanning lasers record the width, height and contours of the first reflective surface they encounter, producing data that when combined with the images create a three-dimension representation.[6] Three-dimension representations are already available in Japan and Western Europe; employees at the company's U.S. headquarters in Lebanon, New Hampshire, near Dartmouth College, expected in August 2009 that by the beginning of 2011, devices based on Tele Atlas data would be able to depict the surroundings in photo-realistic detail.[6]

Map error handling

Map errors are handled using Tele Atlas Map Insight, described as "our consumer map feedback and change reporting system". The idea is to let end users report errors directly to Tele Atlas, not via the technical support of the manufacturers of products using Tele Atlas maps, and thereby reducing support costs. Map errors are reported using the Tele Atlas Map Insight map feedback web page,[7] to which there can be links from the supports pages of the products. Company is provided the 25% quality in their geospatial database.

Acquisitions

Etak

In May 2000, Tele Atlas acquired Etak, Inc., a US-based vendor of automotive navigation system equipment, digital maps, and mapping software, from Sony Corporation, which became Tele Atlas North America. Etak, Inc. ceased to exist as a separate company soon after.[8]

TomTom

On 23 July 2007, a €2 billion offer for the company by navigation system maker TomTom was accepted by the Tele Atlas board.[9] This was then trumped by a €2.3 billion offer from United States-based rival Garmin on 31 October 2007 initiating a bidding war for Tele Atlas.[10] TomTom responded by upping their bid to €2.9 billion, an offer which was again approved by the board of Tele Atlas.[11] Garmin had been expected to counterbid once again: with Tele Atlas' main global rival Navteq subject to a takeover bid from Nokia, the company had stated that it did not wish both companies to fall into the hands of rivals.[11] However, after striking a content agreement with Navteq through the year 2015, Garmin withdrew its takeover offer, clearing the way for TomTom.[12] On 4 December 2007, TomTom shareholders approved the takeover.[13] The European Commissioner for Competition cleared the takeover in May 2008,[14] and it closed in June.

Internet mapping agreements

Historically, Internet mapping providers have utilized map data from a variety of vendors. Given the growth in usage of Internet mapping portals, the map suppliers have competed fiercely for that business.

On 30 June 2008, Tele Atlas announced a five-year agreement to continue to supply data to Google Maps. Under the deal, Tele Atlas was to have access to corrections and updates to the data made by the Google Maps community.[15] Roughly a year later, in October 2009, Google discontinued using Tele Atlas maps in the United States and began collecting map feedback from consumers for their own use.[16] Shortly thereafter, Google announced Google Maps Navigation for Android, which provides turn-by-turn navigation, similar to the functionality provided by TomTom devices, for free as part of Android.[16]

In May 2008, Mapquest announced that it had expanded its agreement with Navteq to use Navteq map data in 73 countries.[17] In January 2009, Microsoft announced that it had expanded its agreement with Navteq to utilize its map data for 74 countries, in addition to licensing a variety of additional content.[18] As a result, consumers in the Internet segment are likely to be exposed to Tele Atlas data less frequently.

See also

References
  1. "Unaudited pro forma combined income statement for the year ended 31 December 2007" (PDF). Tele Atlas. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  2. According to TomTom (see this company press release, it spent €16 million in restructuring charges as a result of the Tele Atlas acquisition.
  3. TomTom announced cuts of "around 100 jobs" in January 2009, according to this article from pocket-lint.com
  4. "TomTom holds 99.29 pct stake of Tele Atlas; Tele Atlas listing to end July 30". Forbes. Thomson Financial News. 27 June 2008. Archived from the original on 3 June 2011.
  5. "Maps & enhanced content" (PDF). TomTom. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  6. Mapping the world, one street at a time, a 12 August 2009 CNN article
  7. "Tele Atlas Map Insight". Tele Atlas. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  8. "Tele Atlas Acquires US-Based Mapping Company ETAK from Sony Corp of America", Directions Magazine, 19 April 2000, archived from the original on 5 March 2016, retrieved 17 January 2013
  9. Kanner, Joram; van de Hoef, Marcel (23 July 2007). "TomTom Agrees to Acquire Tele Atlas for EU2 Billion". Bloomberg. Retrieved 23 July 2007.
  10. "Garmin Trumps TomTom Bid for Tele Atlas". Reuters. 31 October 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
  11. "Digital mapmaker Tele Atlas endorses €2.9 billion TomTom bid". Associated Press. 8 November 2007. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
  12. "Garmin Withdraws $3.3B Tele Atlas Bid". Associated Press. 16 November 2007. Archived from the original on 22 November 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2007.
  13. Kloet, Steven (4 December 2007). "TomTom Holders Approve Takeover of Tele Atlas". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
  14. Newman, Matthew; van de Hoef, Marcel (14 May 2008). "TomTom Wins EU Antitrust Approval to Buy Tele Atlas". Bloomberg. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
  15. Schonfeld, Erick (30 June 2008). "In New Deal With Tele Atlas, Google Maps Sends Data Back". TechCrunch. The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
  16. Woyke, Elizabeth (23 October 2009). "Google's Navigation Bombshell". Forbes. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
  17. "English Press Releases". Archived from the original on 14 July 2011.
  18. "English Press Releases". Archived from the original on 14 July 2011.
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