Cellular Probe System Computes Shanghai Traffic Congestion

What is touted as the world's largest cellular probe system has been deployed in Shanghai by TrafficCast International, TrafficCast China (Shanghai) and China Mobile. The anonymous mobile phone position and signaling data in China Mobile's GSM network are collected, analyzed and converted into travel time and speed information for major highways and surface streets in Shanghai. Currently, the system collects cellular data from 10 million China Mobile subscribers in Shanghai, and covers all roads within the Inner Ring Area, including 483 miles of major roads comprising 1,700 roadway segments.

Congestion is a major problem everywhere in China. Government agencies and the commercial sector are urgently searching for efficient ways to access reliable traffic information. This implementation in Shanghai is the first step toward an anticipated nationwide roll-out with China Mobile. TrafficCast International's deployment provides the first cost-effective method of generating highly accurate, real-time traffic information within major cities and across inter-city freeways and state roads in China.

Professor Qixin Shi, China's leading ITS researcher and former Director of Transportation Institute at Tsinghua University at Beijing states, "TrafficCast International's cell probe deployment in Shanghai is state-of- the-art. When [the] technology is deployed more widely it will enable China to leapfrog the U.S., Europe, and Japan, which rely heavily on traditional sensor technology, and it will support logistics management for the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games and 2010 World Expo in Shanghai."