Intelligent Transport Systems - Telenor

During the years to follow, Transport Telematikk
launched a host of new products, many
of which are function specific interfaces to
ELVEG or subsets, or extensions based on tools
developed later; i.e. they serve as production
tools for application developers. The “Map
hotel” is a case in point: Modules for the management
of own data sets to be combined with
ELVEG data sold to VAS and web developers.
Map data are also sold – as “raw material” – for
unspecified use, e.g. to competitors and other
VAS developers. The Swedish company T-kartor
AB may serve as a customer example: On the
top of ELVEG data, it has launched the M@P
product range for managing and displaying a
range of map formats and the presentation of
complex combinations of data sets (see Figure 3).
Motives
Behind Telenor’s involvement was a combination
of interests. Still, with the culture of government
prevailing, an engagement in exploiting the
new mobile networks, digital maps and GPS for
better transport planning, was a kind of social
obligation – with Telenor being among the few
in the Norwegian society with muscle and mind
able to initiate such development activity. However,
such perspectives prevailing in part of the
organisation, it was nevertheless also considered
to be good business:
Within telcos, the governing paradigm of the
time was value added service (VAS) creation.
The entire ELVEG initiative may be understood
as an initiative to increase traffic in the networks
by service creation. VAS based on IN (Intelligent
Network) mechanisms had created new
growth in the telco sector worldwide. Digital
maps and navigation was just one more step
along the road, with realtively more of the application
located in the terminals, but still generating
traffic in the telco network. The commercial
interest of the telco was in accellerating a development
which might happen anyhow, but not
necessarily if nobody took the lead. Eventually,
by doing so, Telenor would help build the new
industry, wether or not Telenor would earn back
its investements from network traffic or from
services.
Perspectives would be different through the eyes
of other partakers. For the business entrepreneurs
higher up the value chain, the map database and
communication network was infrastructure –
rescources to be provided by someone, but for
them more or less to be taken for granted. For
them, the interest was in designing and servicing
a fleet management system, or in equipment
Telektronikk 1.2003
sales. For public authorities, a motive was to get
more cost effective public services, fullfilling
their raison d’étre. It would also mean challenging
professional work, and in part also open for
new sources of income.
Such differing perspectives were not contradictory.
On the contrary, they are the glue of cooperative,
multi-disciplinary projects.
Costs and Benefits
The accumulated Telenor spendings on the
ELVEG project are in the magnitude of
20 MNOK, half of which were spent on establishing
the map database service company
Transport Telematikk AS 4) . There has only been
Figure 2 Locus AS: fleet
management system provider,
originally built to service
rescue centers
Figure 3 M@P: Service
creation on the basis of
ELVEG map data and
functionalities
4) The company, numbering 12 persons, was established as a separate business unit under Telenor Mobile Communications in 1999. From the business
proposal leading to the establishment, one may read that the costs supposed to incur from establishing the company and running it until figures went
into black, would amount to 7 MNOK. The real figure turned out to be in the range of 10 MNOK when the company got in black by 2001.
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