Idea Cellular, one of the biggest telecom operators in the country has today joined forces with MapmyIndia, Delhi-based maps and tracking services provider to launch a new SIM card-based fleet tracking service.
Currently, the service is being rolled out to a select set of clients as it's in the pilot stage. The new fleet tracking service launched by Idea will enable enterprise clients to track the position of their fleet easily on MapmyIndia’s maps.
The Delhi-based company had developed the necessary back-end platform to fetch real-time positions of the customer’s vehicles which will then be displayed on its own maps.
What’s interesting here is that unlike the usual GPS tracking which works only when connected to the internet, Idea’s new service doesn’t require an active internet connection. Further, the service works fine even when used with a low-end feature phone.
All one has to do is insert the Idea SIM card offered by the telco and activate it with a certain fixed amount. This credit will be valid only for one trip and users will have to recharge with the said fixed amount every time they plan to send their vehicle on a trip. And once the journey is completed, the SIM card will be deactivated automatically.
Users can, however, recharge with the fixed credit once again to activate the service. Customers will be charged based on how long they have used the SIM card, and the generated revenue will be shared between both the companies.
The service will also notify customers should there be any unwarranted stoppages or accidents and can be customised based on your requirement.
Paresh Shetty, president - strategy and planning at Idea said, “From our consultation with customers, it emerged that about 60-70% of cargo shipments happen through third-party vendors that may or may not have GPS trackers installed, and for the end-client to install them each time is not feasible” reports Livemint.
Idea seems to have already signed four clients which include its sister companies Hindalco Industries and Grasim Industries along with Sterlite Technologies.
“There are at least 15 more customers in the pipeline. We will roll-out in full scale in 30-40 days once some technical things are firmed up,” Shetty added.
