Transport tracking service getting popular in country

Md Jamal Uddin The transport tracking service is getting popular in the country as vehicle owners are adopting this modern technology for protecting their automobiles from growing accidents and hijacking. The service is introduced in about 25,000 transports of different corporate and transport operators who handle hundreds of vehicles at a time, according to the service providers. The valuable assets will not go beyond the sight of the owners if the device is installed in vehicles as the engine is remotely shut down, they explained. The service providers mentioned that recently the number of the service seekers is increasing due to the rise of highway robberies. On October 2, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) informed the home ministry and police administration that 150 covered vans and trucks loaded with exportable products were hijacked in a month. In this situation, the vehicle tracking service can be a protector of the valuable assets, they think. "In February, we recovered a microbus of our company within a short time of stealing with the help of this service," said Captain (Retd) Wahidur Rahman, AGM (Transport) of Sunman Group. He told the FE that it has vast benefit as they can monitor their vehicles easily through a computerised system. Aklim Ahmed, head of marketing of NITS Ltd, a leading vehicle tracking service provider, said customers will get benefits from the service such as anti-theft utilities, constant vehicle tracking, route selection, over speed alerts, monitoring of travelled distance and report generation. He told the FE that his company is providing the service to around 10,000 vehicles. "The number of customers of the service is increasing day by day due to its immense benefit, especially for road-related troubles," Mr Aklim mentioned. Around Tk 17,000-18,000 including Tk 9,000 for device installation and the rest of the amount for annual servicing charge, is needed for the service, as per the service providers. Realising the importance of the service, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) started giving licence to the providers in 2009 and so far 10 licences have been awarded to different companies this year. Among the service providers, NITS, Monico Ltd and Grameenphone are in leading position. Besides, Banglalink, Robi, Citicell and Airtel are also giving the service by a third party. Some companies, out of the ten licence holders, adopted the service for the management of their own vehicles and the rest for commercial purpose. Mahbubur Rahman, Deputy Manager (Sales and Marketing) of Finder, a sister concern of the giant construction company Monico Ltd, said his company developed the entire service locally and has digitised the map of Bangladesh with identification of all major landmarks and locations of the country. Monico, under brand 'Finder,' launched the service in the country first before getting licence in 2009, and they have about 4,000 subscribers. Besides, some renowned companies are marketing the service by their own brands which is powered by Finder. In addition to all the traditional vehicle trafficking services, Finder also offers some extraordinary services that would make the clients feel more secure, Mr Mahbub noted. "We provide all the services customers would ever need to ensure absolute safety of their vehicles. Clients would also enjoy all our services online and through mobile SMS service," he added. He also said, "We are capable of assuring the most advanced vehicle tracking service to our valued customers with the lowest service charge as the entire technology is locally developed". Tahmed Azizul Huq, head of corporate communication of Grameenphone, said the trend of taking the service is increasing day by day as the people are being aware of their valuable assets.