AT&T announced a new portfolio of fleet management products at the American Trucking Associations’ annual MC&E conference, held Oct 4-7 in San Diego.
AT&T supplies the voice and data cellular network used by many telematics and machine-to-machine (M2M) systems in the transportation industry and now offers its own brand of fleet products.
Collectively, the products are called AT&T Fleet Management Solutions. The bundle consists of Fleet Driver Center, Fleet Complete, Fleet Manager and Fleet Center. Each one is designed to meet specific mobility needs for every sector in the transportation industry from government to commercial fleets with light, medium and heavy-duty trucks, says John Moscatelli, AT&T’s industry director, transportation.
AT&T also announced Cargo View, a small M2M device with global GSM/GPRS connectivity to remotely monitor cargo conditions during transportation in any mode. The device can monitor temperature, light and other conditions along with tracking location.
When tracking air freight, Cargo View has a FlightSafe feature that will automatically transition the device to airplane mode to be FAA compliant and preserve battery life. AT&T is working to launch a reefer monitoring system with WAM Technologies that will have two-way visibility and control of reefer units, Moscatelli said.
Besides announcing an expanded fleet portfolio, AT&T discussed how a major motor carrier, Saia LTL Freight, is using an AT&T suite of mobile technologies called AT&T Advanced Mobility Solutions to simplify its work processes and save money.
Saia’s drivers use rugged handheld computers to connect with dispatch managers and fleet operations. Additionally, the AT&T wireless network is embedded in Saia’s vehicle computers to provide updates on fuel consumption, driver and engine performance and electronic driver logs.
