Smart introduces car security system

Pretty soon, companies may be able to monitor the location and use of their vehicles wherever they may be in the country by using cellular phones. Car owners will soon be able to protect their cars by also using their mobile phones.

Cellular phone giant Smart Communications Inc. has signed a service provider agreement with premier location-based services provider FindMe LBS, a member of the e-Lopez group of companies, to provide vehicle-tracking information to TrackMe and Smart subscribers.

"Smart’s network is very reliable. The same can be said about its GSM coverage, being the widest in the industry. These factors were the main consideration behind FindMe’s decision to partner with Smart since TrackMe subscribers funnel out into the remotest areas of the country and Smart has the necessary coverage to service these areas," says FindMe chief operations officer Ruel Kapunan.

The agreement was signed by Smart’s personal communications and mobile services division head Anastacio Martinez and business and product development chief Edgardo Bautista, and FindMe’s chief executive officer Bernardo Abis at the ABS-CBN Communications Center Complex in Quezon City last week.

With this agreement in effect, about seven million Smart subscribers can soon avail themselves of the service known as the TrackMe Vehicle Tracking and Management System (VTMS).

"We will be opening up this service to Smart users, including Talk and Text subscribers," Martirez said. Talk and Text, operated by PLDT-affiliate Pilipino Telephone Corp. (Piltel), rides on Smart’s GSM network.

FindMe LBS expects 3,000 TrackMe Rover units sold this year, and will double by 2003 because of the deal, which FindMe LBS considers a milestone in the history of the relatively young location-based services industry in the Philippines.

FindMe LBS also plans to sell the service overseas. "We have strong inquiries even from other groups," said chief executive officer J. Xavier Gonzales said.

On the other hand, Smart is looking forward to partnering with more start-up companies that provide content-based services – such as entertainment, gaming, business and news – for mobile phones.

With the TrackMe device installed in their vehicles, Smart subscribers can monitor the location and use of their vehicles through a series of alerts sent to their phones through text messaging.

All location information is kept safe and confidential by FindMe’s encrypted secure networks and servers. "The user can choose to deactivate commands if his phone is stolen," Kapunan said.

He said the Singaporean-made TrackMe box – about the size of a pocketbook – installed in each vehicle registered in this system is estimated to cost some P35,000 to P45,000.

Only messages sent are billed to the user, and other information sent by the TrackMe VTMS server is free of charge. The standard rate of P2.50 per text message applies.

TrackMe as a security system

However, customers that will require services beyond tracking will be billed additional charges depending on the added service.

For example, aside from an electronic beacon to keep track of the vehicle, car owners can use the TrackMe device also as a security alarm.

"There is no fool-proof car security system," FindMe business development manager Jay Carlos said. Not yet, at least. But what their product can do, aside from alerting the car owner, is actually stopping thieves from driving away with the vehicle.

If a thief manages to open the car door, the owner’s mobile phone gets a text message saying, "Your car door has been opened. Please check the status of your vehicle." If the thief manages to drive off, the owner can send an engine shutdown command via text message to the vehicle.

To ensure the safety of motorists and pedestrians, the car will not shut down unless certain conditions are met. If, for example, the car is traveling at 120 kilometers per hour and the command is given, the engine will not be shut down.

"The engine will only shut down if certain safety conditions are met or the car thief makes a certain driving act," which Carlos declined to specify for obvious reasons. "While he’s driving, the thief is bound to commit one of those acts. And when he does, the car will shut down."

Since the car owner has taken control of the vehicle’s electrical system, the thief would not be able to restart the engine. The engine can only be restarted once the owner sends a text message to the car disabling the shutdown system.

Once the engine shuts down, the car horn will start blasting and the lights will flash to attract attention.

Then the vehicle will send a text message to its owner stating its location. For example, "Your vehicle is on Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City, near Boni Serrano Avenue, Shakey’s (16 m), Caltex (23 m), Metrobank (28 m)."

TrackMe also eliminates other irritants, such as forgetting to activate the car alarm or locking the door when the car owner is already inside the office. Instead of going back to the car park, he can simply send a text message, "Enable car alarm" or "Lock door." If you lock yourself out, an "Unlock door" text message will do. However, the lock/unlock feature only works on vehicles with power locks.

Obviously for security reasons, only the owner’s mobile phone can control the engine. "So even if other people know the commands, they cannot control the vehicle," Carlos said.

He recommended that the alarm system be accessible by more than one mobile phone. That way, if the car is hijacked on the road and the phone was left inside the vehicle, the owner can still call his wife by landline and tell her to shut down the car. If the cellphone’s roaming system is activated, the owner can be alerted even if he is outside the country.

With its agreement with Smart, FindMe LBS expects its TrackMe device to blaze the trail.