Monthly newsletter addressing issues related to Frotcom products and services, customer case studies and success stories of Frotcom, among other interesting issues about our business activity.
1. March
2011
Roadmap monthly newsletter In this issue
New features
Editorial Alarm sounds, useful links
and many others
O
n the Carnival holidays, the office of a company
nearby was assaulted. Apart from a few Case study
laptops, it seems, the gang robbed a vehicle of Fibnet
that company, which was parked in the garage. Reducing travel times
and costs
The vehicle was gone and – fortunately – was already found by the police. But
not thanks to any GPS system installed in the vehicle. The vehicle did not have News and events
one. So, for a series of days, it was not possible to recover the vehicle. Nor the Indian adventure
other robbed stuff. If it weren’t for other clues the police obviously had, it would about to end
probably be gone forever.
This and much more…
I am, of course, biased in saying this: it does not
make any sense anymore for companies not to
have their entire fleet equipped with a vehicle
tracking system. Allow me to explain why.
The simple fact that a vehicle may be stolen, as happened with this company,
pays off. You may think that’s not a problem as long as insurance covers theft of
the vehicle. But that insurance adds an extra cost to the company, and this cost
could be a lot lower if the vehicle were traceable by GPS. Some insurance
companies already give discounts in the case of GPS equipped vehicles, and
rightly so. Besides, in the case where the vehicle transports goods, tools or
values, the insurance is not enough, is it? And just because the vehicle is insured
against theft doesn’t mean that a new vehicle will be immediately available. This
often means a disruption in the service provided to customers
But any justification for not having a GPS tracking system on board becomes
even harder to understand when you think of the great benefits such a system
generates in terms of productivity, cost control and customer satisfaction. That
is usually the primary reason why our customers adopt Frotcom. And vehicle
security is simply a great side effect.
Valério Marques
CEO - Frotcom International
A note from the editor – If you would like to have your own say in the next edition of this newsletter please do
not hesitate to get in touch at roadmap@frotcom.com.
Roadmap Monthly Newsletter | roadmap@frotcom.com | Tel + 351 214 135 670 | Fax +351 214 135 678
Frotcom vehicle tracking system | www.frotcom.com
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1
2. Did you know?
New Features
“My Profile” and “Company profile” have changed
As more options are becoming available for users to
Source: CNN.com
customize their user experience, the My Profile and
Company Profile sections in Frotcom’s Administration
Japan may have shifted
area needed to be redesigned. Users now have a
more than 2 meters
stronger visual aid helping them select the appropriate
options.
The powerful earthquake that
Start page choice expanded unleashed a devastating tsunami
Users can now select from a total of 19 different start pages (landing pages) Friday appears to have moved the
when they login. Choices are available in the My profile section. main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4
meters) and shifted the Earth on its
axis.
Sounds and popups
"At this point, we know that one GPS
for messages and station moved (8 feet), and we have
alarms seen a map from GSI (Geospatial
Information Authority) in Japan
It is now possible to specify popup warnings and sounds when alarms are
showing the pattern of shift over a large
triggered or new messages are received. area is consistent with about that much
shift of the land mass," said Kenneth
Hudnut, a geophysicist with the U.S.
CANBus report extended
Geological Survey (USGS).
The CANBus report has been extended to a
maximum time period of 31 days. This will Reports from the National Institute of
allow users to calculate the total and average Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy
estimated the 8.9-magnitude quake
consumption of a vehicle, among other data,
shifted the planet on its axis by nearly 4
for a complete month.
inches (10 centimeters).
The temblor, which struck Friday
Requesting support afternoon near the east coast of Japan,
Users can now request direct support from their Frotcom Certified Partner killed hundreds of people, caused the
(FCP) by simply clicking on the Feedback/Support link in Frotcom. The formation of 30-foot walls of water that
message entered will be immediately received by the FCP and support will be swept across rice fields, engulfed entire
towns, dragged houses onto highways,
quickly provided.
and tossed cars and boats like toys.
Some waves reached six miles (10
Useful links kilometers) inland in Miyagi Prefecture
on Japan's east coast.
A quick button for a list of links to useful web
sites has been added to Frotcom. Users can edit
the list and add their own list of preferred sites. Source: CNN.com
Roadmap Monthly Newsletter | roadmap@frotcom.com | Tel + 351 214 135 670 | Fax +351 214 135 678
Frotcom vehicle tracking system | www.frotcom.com
Angola |Belgium | Brazil | Bulgaria | Cameroon | Cyprus | D. R. Congo | Greece | Kenya | Luxemburg | Macedonia | Madagascar | Mauritius |
Morocco | Portugal | Reunion Islands | Romania | Rwanda | Senegal | Serbia | Seychelles | Sierra Leone | Slovenia | Spain | Tanzania | Uganda
2
3. Tip of the month
Useful Links
Case Study
Frotcom has just launched the new
FibNet Useful links feature, a quick access to
your preferred web sites.
Reducing travel times and costs in
telecommunication projects The idea is that you can have a list of
those useful sites where you normally
find information which is important for
the management of your fleet’s activity.
Here are some examples:
Traffic status report
Emergency phone numbers
Weather forecast
Fuel price comparison and location
FibNet - Engineering and Telecommunications, S.A. emerged in the Portuguese
of the corresponding gas stations
telecommunications market in 2000 as a provider of integrated solutions,
Currency conversion
dedicated to the design, implementation and construction management of
Freight exchange
telecommunication networks.
News
With a recognized team of excellent professionals, FibNet guarantees its To help you start, Frotcom already
customers an efficient management of all resources, focusing on the quality of includes a couple of links. You can add
their services. your own links by pressing the Edit
button and inserting your own choices.
FibNet started its activity with the design and construction of a
fiber optic ring on a national scale. Later, the company
expanded its work to other areas of engineering, such as
building telecommunication networks. Currently, FibNet offers
turn-key solutions, covering such diverse areas as GSM, FWA
and UMTS networks, cable TV and fiber optics.
To control its fleet, FibNet adopted Frotcom. According to
Susana Dias, Administrator of FibNet "The use of Frotcom has When you select a link, you will open a
enabled FibNet a more precise knowledge of the work of field new page with the selected website.
staff and thus to better be able to respond to customer
Apart from having all fleet
requests. As an additional advantage, we are now able to
management useful sites together, this
manage the vehicles that are allocated to projects abroad“. feature in Frotcom allows you to have
FibNet also noticed “a decrease in travel times and mileage, as access to this preferred list from any
well as a reduction in fuel cost.” computer connect to the internet. In
that sense, it is a better solution than
simply using the favourites in your web
Roadmap Monthly Newsletter | roadmap@frotcom.com | Tel + 351 214 135 670 | Fax +351 214 135 678
Frotcom vehicle tracking system | www.frotcom.com
browser.
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Morocco | Portugal | Reunion Islands | Romania | Rwanda | Senegal | Serbia | Seychelles | Sierra Leone | Slovenia | Spain | Tanzania | Uganda
3
4. News and events
Next, on Roadmap
The Indian adventure is about to end
News and events,
more new Frotcom features
and tips will be presented.
Do you remember the Frotcom sponsored adventure of a couple in a sidecar
This and more, so don’t miss
motorbike in India? Well, after almost 5 months interacting with the Indian
culture, this epic adventure is close to its end. Leninha and Inácio started on the next issue of Roadmap.
November 2, 2010, in Delhi, India, and will finish in the same place, after
8000km in the roads of this fabulous country.
The sidecar motorcycle, a 1966 Royal Enfield Bullet 350cc, was equipped with a
Frotcom tracking device, which made it possible to follow up the entire journey.
Today, as these words are being written, the couple has left Varanasi and is
resting halfway to Allahabad, in the north of India and on the way back to Delhi.
For further information and great pictures and videos about this adventure, visit
www.daravolta.com or www.facebook.com/daravolta.
According to their logbook, the couple is
already considering another trip in another
exotic place. Frotcom, of course, will be
available to track and trace their vehicle again
(whatever that might be!...)
Roadmap contratulates Lenhinha and Inácio for this great initiative and wishes
both a safe journey back home.
Roadmap Monthly Newsletter | roadmap@frotcom.com | Tel + 351 214 135 670 | Fax +351 214 135 678
Frotcom vehicle tracking system | www.frotcom.com
Angola |Belgium | Brazil | Bulgaria | Cameroon | Cyprus | D. R. Congo | Greece | Kenya | Luxemburg | Macedonia | Madagascar | Mauritius |
Morocco | Portugal | Reunion Islands | Romania | Rwanda | Senegal | Serbia | Seychelles | Sierra Leone | Slovenia | Spain | Tanzania | Uganda
4