NAVTEQ furthers commitment to Middle East digital mapping

Additional locally-based geographic analysts, coverage expansion into Turkey and Jordan and rich content additions will continue to give the company's customers the digital maps that can help them maximize the opportunity of this fast growing region.

The company's regional footprint already includes 100% Detailed Coverage of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and extensive coverage in Saudi Arabia and Oman in both English and Arabic. Detailed Coverage is NAVTEQ's highest quality coverage and means the map database includes 100% of the road network and the full range of more than 200 road attributes wherever applicable.

Because the rate of change to the road network in the Middle East far exceeds that of some other countries, NAVTEQ has increased its cadre of trained geographic analysts. This group of local experts is trained in NAVTEQ's single global data specification and provided with the company's proprietary data collection tools for the right combination of local knowledge and proven global processes. They continually drive to capture and verify new roads, housing developments and cities to keep the NAVTEQ map as up to date as possible.

"There are obviously a number of challenges associated with precise digital mapping, especially in the UAE where an overwhelming amount of construction and development is taking place, including frequent new roads and routes. The cornerstone of our products is accuracy, and as such, we have over 600 field researchers strategically located around the world, including 12 in the UAE,"

said Mary Hardwick, Vice President Product Management for NAVTEQ.

With this year's launch of Turkey, the company now offers seamless connectivity from the Middle East region to Europe enabling cross-continental customers and application developers the ability to route from one region to the other. The next country to be added to the regional footprint is Jordan (due in December) and is planned to offer Detailed Coverage of Amman and more than 1000 kilometers of critical connector roads across the country. This new addition will facilitate routing from Saudi Arabia to the rest of the region and within Jordan itself.

In addition to their leading coverage footprint, NAVTEQ continues to enrich their digital map through content innovation. In some cases, the company's products include attributes to support Advanced Driver Assistance System applications, speed limits, digital terrain information and 3D landmarks to provide better visual context on navigation systems and a high level road network map of every country in the region called Entry Map. Of particular interest is Points of Interest (POI) that provide the location, address and contact details for businesses like restaurants, retailers, hotels, gas stations and banks that users need to route to. New POI categories and enhanced entry points for some listings will improve users' ability to find and arrive at their intended destination.

In keeping with the importance of mobile device-based navigation and location-based services in the region, NAVTEQ and 13 of its mobile device customers are presenting their products and services in a Consumer Showcase to attendees of GITEX Technology Week from the 8th of September to the 12th in Dubai.