navigation service for mobile phones in the U.S., announced today that New York City is using a mobile GPS solution from TeleNav and AT&T to improve the quality of life for residents. Last summer, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg launched the New York City SCOUT (Street Conditions Observation Unit) program. In this program, inspectors report street conditions by using the TeleNav Track™ solution on their GPS-enabled BlackBerry® 8800 mobile handsets, which use the AT&T wireless network, as they drive through the city.

TeleNav Track provides the inspectors with customized wireless forms for easy data entry on their BlackBerry handsets, and the GPS technology helps management identify where SCOUT inspectors have been. This information is then wirelessly captured by AT&T's nationwide¹ wireless data network. Then it is sent to the 3-1-1 Customer Service Center, which sends the information to the appropriate agency for corrective action, including the city's Department of Sanitation, Department of Transportation, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Buildings and the Department of Parks and Recreation.

"This new team, equipped with GPS technology, will bring an extra set of eyes to our city streets," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Whenever I'm driving through the city and see a pothole or garbage on the street, I'll pick up the phone and report the problem to 3-1-1, just like thousands of citizens do every day. Now, we'll deploy a team of veteran city workers to do the same while armed with new technology and their knowledge of quality-of-life concerns in our city."

The SCOUT inspectors will observe and report conditions, including: illegal dumping, street potholes, graffiti on buildings, missing traffic signs, dangling or down traffic signs, open fire hydrants, down newspaper boxes, property damage in parks and damage to bus shelters and sidewalk shed ads.

The SCOUT team includes 15 inspectors, most of whom will drive three-wheeled scooters and travel every city street once a month.

"Thousands of organizations are now using TeleNav Track to leverage mobile GPS technology and create more efficient processes," said HP Jin, co-founder, president and CEO of TeleNav. "We are proud that, using AT&T's advanced wireless data network, we can provide New York City with a solution that will make a difference in the community."

TeleNav Track uses GPS and wireless technologies to provide business-management solutions via mobile devices. It includes a variety of mobile features, including GPS tracking/reporting and navigation, wireless job dispatching, wireless forms and wireless barcode scanning.

"New York City is an outstanding example of a technologically savvy municipality that is using an intuitive and easy-to-deploy wireless data solution to enhance the quality of life for millions of residents," said Chris Hill, vice president of Government Solutions for AT&T's wireless unit. "AT&T's wireless network and TeleNav-equipped BlackBerry handsets help improve the city's processes and leverage its 3-1-1 center investment by capturing valuable information from remote SCOUT crews."

AT&T has been working with New York City for several years and provides a broad range of voice and data communications solutions for the city's multiple agencies.

¹ Not available in all areas