[SatNews] u-blox announces LEON G100 Automotive, a surface-mount, automotive quality grade GSM/GPRS modem.

The modem is designed for use in first-mount car telematics applications, such as emergency call (e.g., eCall), Stolen Vehicle Recovery, and wireless driver assistance services. In addition, it is ideal for after-market applications, including road pricing, wireless toll collection, pay-per-use insurance, and AVL / fleet management systems. The module fulfils specific quality requirements of the automotive industry such as extended temperature range, level 3 PPAP, and ISO/TS 16949 certified manufacturing sites. The global market for OEM, commercial and after-market telematics devices is expected to grow from approximately 20 million units in 2009 to more than 49 million units by 2015. Obligatory AVL tracking systems are already mandated for new cars in Brazil. Emergency call systems such as “eCall” in the European Union is intended to quickly assist motorists involved in a collision anywhere in the EU. To support eCall, an in-band modem option is available for transmitting critical data over the voice channel, such as GPS coordinates and vehicle status, to a response center. eCall implementation is expected in 2014.