ATX Signs European eCall Memorandum of Understanding

BRUSSELS, Belgium, 5 May 2010 --- ATX, one of the leading providers of in-vehicle, automatic emergency call response services to the global automotive industry, Tuesday signed the European Union’s eCall Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at a signing ceremony hosted by the European Commission.

The European Commission’s eCall initiative proposes that all European vehicles be equipped in the near future with an affordable in-car emergency call system that automatically sends its location to the nearest emergency service whenever a crash activates the vehicle’s airbags or when someone presses a designated, in-vehicle emergency button. It’s a service that ATX, through the support of dedicated data and customer centers, has provided to BMW in Europe for nearly a decade and to multiple automobile manufacturers in North America for over 14 years. ATX is now involved in the deployment plans of advanced eCall in North America, in which crash severity information and the corresponding risk of severe injury to vehicle occupants is transmitted with the crash notification and location.

“Because of our long history with eCall deployment, ATX has sought to maintain a position throughout this process as a neutral third party that automakers, government policymakers and the emergency response community could rely upon as an outside and impartial subject matter expert,” said Arnaud de Meulemeester, managing director of ATX International, Inc., in Europe. “The time has arrived for deployment, enhancing emergency notification and response across European roadways."

In addition to its full backing of the European Commission’s eCall initiative, de Meulemeester noted that ATX would continue to work closely with the European Emergency Number Association and the emergency response community in each European country to ensure a seamless interface, including in field tests starting at the end of the year. ATX recently unveiled in Europe a unique eCall solution that combines both voice and Web-based data connections to emergency response centers, providing more flexibility in meeting the diverse protocols and technical capabilities involved in interfacing with local 1-1-2 emergency call centers within Europe.

In 2009, ATX routed over 8,000 automatic eCalls, triggered by airbag and/or crash-sensor activation, and over 6,500 eCalls activated by motorists pushing a dedicated emergency button inside the car to report an in-vehicle emergency or witnessing an accident.