PRESS RELEASE                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

INTERNATIONAL SERVICE LAUNCHES TO PROTECT VEHICLES AND DRIVERS AROUND THE WORLD

London, 19^th January 2009, GLOBALWATCH launches today as a pioneering international service that protects vehicles and drivers around the world.  It helps you contact the police when a crime or emergency occurs wherever you are in the world.  At its core is the industry-leading EUROWATCH service that covers more than 40 countries and is now seamlessly extended for North and South America, the Middle East, Russia and South Africa.  It is planned that Australasia, China and India follow by 2010.  The service includes Stolen Vehicle Tracking, Alarm Monitoring and eCall and, uniquely, connects with any GPS tracking device.

Auto and Freight crime are now large scale industries run by sophisticated, international gangs controlling all aspects of their ‘value chain’. This ranges from acquiring detailed intelligence through to the theft, dispersal and resale of goods and vehicles via international channels.  In particular these gangs exploit the ease of passage that exists across national borders and the limited resources applied to cross-border law enforcement.

GLOBALWATCH fights international crime by providing a seamless service that spans borders.  In particular it utilises unique technology to connect all types of GPS tracking system through to police in each country providing them with real-time data on the location of stolen vehicles.  This has resulted in recovery rates of 98% for stolen vehicles (industry average 60%) and 94% for stolen freight (industry average 11%).

“eCall” is designed to bring rapid assistance to drivers involved in vehicle accidents. It provides automatic crash notification with GPS coordinates to local emergency services.  However, local emergency services generally lack the infrastructure and capability to process these messages and none work cross-border.  GLOBALWATCH bridges this gap by processing eCall messages and notifying local emergency services through its established network.

Peter Vyvyan-Robinson, Managing Director of GLOBALWATCH said: “Since launching in 2002, EUROWATCH has become the leading service in Europe for protecting vehicles and drivers. Our success comes from the commitment to connect any GPS device to our service  which allows Stolen Vehicle Tracking or eCall be provided as a low cost option alongside our partners’ products.    With our experience, knowledge and strong partnerships, we are now able to offer this service worldwide. This means that a vehicle manufacturer or telematics vendor can deliver products to customers in all markets of the world with the knowledge that GLOBALWATCH will provide the services required alongside in each country.”

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About GLOBALWATCH

GLOBALWATCH is a 24/7 service that deals direct with police and emergency services in each country and can quickly respond to crimes and emergencies even where a vehicle has crossed an international border.  Its service is delivered by Control Centres employing over 1000 operators speaking the national language of every country covered.  Its service is currently used in Europe by the world’s leading automakers, over 1,000 international transport operators and over 250 international insurance companies and it is the largest provider of independent monitoring services to the telematics industry in Europe.   

The countries covered include: Andorra, België, Balgariya, Brasil, Canada, Cesko, Danmark, Deutschland, Éire, España, Estonia, France, Hellas, Hrvatska, Hungária, Italia, Kýpros, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Nederland, Norge, Österreich, Polska, Portugal, România, Rossiya, Slovakia, Slovenija, South Africa, Suisse, Suomi, Sverige, Turkiye, Dawlat Al-Imārāt al-‘Arabīya al-Muttaida, United Kingdom , USA, Ukrayina.

For more information see www.globalwatchcentral.com