FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 7, 2007

TIA To Hold Inaugural Telematics Standards Committee Meeting

TR-48 Committee will accelerate adoption of telematics in vehicle and infrastructure systems.

Arlington, Va. - The recent growth of telematics technology, from automatic crash notification to timely transmission of traffic and safety information, to location-based applications made available on the Internet, has created a need among manufacturers for improved standardization. As an international leader in standards development work, TIA has established an Automotive Telematics Engineering Committee to provide a forum for bringing telematics equipment suppliers and service providers together. The Committee will hold its first meeting August 16 at TIA headquarters.

TIA's TR-48 Automotive Telematics Committee aims to reach consensus on communications interface standards for connecting vehicles and infrastructure from both networking and operations support system perspectives. The Committee could also provide a foundation for building an open and scalable telematics network to support national Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) initiatives and carrier-sponsored services. The Committee may also provide a platform for leveraging technical work and capabilities to support efforts in the United States with the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), the COMCARE Emergency Response Alliance, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE), the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), as well as internationally with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and other global standard development organizations.

"After significant discussion over the past year between members of the ICT industry, companies participating in TIA's standards program have launched TR-48 to develop Telematics standards that support Automatic Crash Notification and Vehicle Safety Communications while enabling essential equipment interoperability for communications from vehicles," said Anil Kripalani, chair of the TIA Technical Committee, which oversees all engineering committees.

"This new initiative will encourage bringing important telematics products and applications to market by providing technologists and manufacturers with the confidence of standardization," said Eric Schimmel, Facilitator for Inaugural Meetings of TR-48.

TIA joins other global organizations in engaging this exciting new technology, including the ITU, which recently held its Fully Networked Car Workshop, and the U.S. Department of Transportation, which initiated its Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) initiative.

For more information on TR-48 and other TIA standards committee meetings, contact Ian Martinez at 703.907.7723 or imartinez@tiaonline.org.

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About TIA
The Telecommunications Industry Association is the leading trade association in Washington, D.C., for the information, communications and entertainment technology industry. TIA serves suppliers to global markets through its leadership in standards development, domestic and international policy advocacy, and facilitating member business opportunities such as the co-owned NXTcomm. TIA represents the communications sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA). For more information, go to www.tiaonline.org.