The platform includes passive alerting capability, initially targeted for traffic, but having much broader applicability. The GTN system will push traffic information, emergency alerts and other audio messages to the consumer passively without any interaction with the phone required from the consumer.

The technology generates information reports that reach the phone as an audio message that automatically starts speaking to the consumer (much like a ringtone) when information pertinent to that driver becomes important. This eliminates the need for a driver to read a text message, pre-plan or check a route before driving, or to touch or otherwise interact with the phone to obtain information.

Drivers can simply leave home and rely on their phones to notify them automatically of any pertinent information before the driver reaches a traffic problem. Currently, all messaging delivered to handsets are sent to the phone in a manner that requires the consumer to interact with the phone to get review messages. This system changes the paradigm of how critical informational messages, such as traffic, E-911, weather, etc. are transmitted to consumer via mobile phones.

"This is a completely new way to communicate traffic information and other alerts to the consumer. We anticipate that the Mobile Traffic Network Broadcast Platform will not only generate new revenue sources for our traffic broadcast business but from licensing the technology into other market segments", said Bill Yde, CEO of Global Traffic Network.

The technology will support any speaker enabled phone that supports JAVA, Brew, Symbian, Windows or Linux. Currently the technology is compatible with approximately 96 % of all mobile phones worldwide.

George Ranallo, CEO of Summit Mobile and former Director of Consumer Application Development at Sprint, has been contracted to spearhead product development of the Mobile Traffic Network Broadcast Platform in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe, where he will be creating new product solutions and product awareness with mobile carriers, infrastructure/enterprise providers and handset manufactures.

"This application not only has great potential for all of the mobile phone companies worldwide but also has many other useful applications apart from traffic" stated Ranallo. "I am excited to help get this project off the ground. I believe that this service can be one of the most widely utilized applications in the mobile world.

"There are many LBS type systems available in the market today, but the GTN application is the only one I know of that eliminates the volume and cost restrictions that have prevented LBS and GPS alerting systems from being commonplace. Passive alerting based on a users location opens the door to a whole host of mobile applications and services which, to date, have been cost prohibitive to develop and support."

Testing of the system is scheduled for spring 2008, with an anticipated roll out of the product in late 2008.

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