Sprint Nextel, TeleNav push into enterprise fleet tracking with $50-per-month service: Vehicle Manager offers location-based services

Location-based services provider TeleNav Inc. has partnered with Sprint Nextel Corp. to exclusively offer its latest fleet management service to the wireless provider’s enterprise customers.
TeleNav and Sprint Nextel officials are touting the new Vehicle Manager as economical and a way for companies to manage their fleets more efficiently. The solution combines vehicles diagnostics and IFTA Fuel Tax filing with GPS-enabled navigation, tracking, wireless forms and wireless timecards.
“This gives minute-by-minute information in how the fleet is performing,” said Ravi Acharya, TeleNav associate director of marketing. “This will make a real impact in the field.”
The solution does not require professional installation and can be combined with the wireless provider’s Nextel Direct Connect. Customers that have Sprint Nextel’s unlimited data service will pay a fraction of the cost of similar solutions in the market, said Charnsin Tulyasathien, Sprint Nextel’s acting director of wireless business applications and GPS solutions.
Vehicle Manager costs $50 per month, and can be combined with the carrier’s Direct Connect unlimited plan of $40, Tulyasathien said.
The tracking solution uses an electronic on-board recorder paired with a GPS-enabled wireless phone to gather and submit engine diagnostic, driver performance, odometer readings, mileage reports and wireless timecards.
The solution also includes online mapping with real-time location and arrival and departure times. Overall, the solution can help companies analyze fleet performance, improve productivity and reduce operational and fuel costs.
“This demand has been growing since fuel prices peaked last summer,” Tulyasathien said.
The offering also carries a one-time set up fee of $40 for TeleNav Track Premium service.