Mobile tracking service bought for undisclosed sum
Software group Cybit Holdings has bought a tracking service that allows people to keep tabs on children and the elderly using mobile phone signals, it said today.
Cybit, which already sells equipment used by companies to monitor their workers, bought mapAmobile from manufacturer MI International for an undisclosed sum.
Until now the group only sold its devices to corporate customers, who had to install special hardware in their cars. The new technology eliminates the need for this.
Subscriptions start at £29.99 (€43) a year and people have to give their permission before their mobile phones can be tracked. Regular text messages are sent to the users to remind them they are being monitored.
UK-based Cybit said: “The consumer solution addresses an important concern among consumers allowing them to discreetly monitor the whereabouts of children and other vulnerable people in their care.”
The group supplies its existing technology to a number of corporate customers, including Steill, a division of construction firm Alfred McAlpine.
It also develops software that helps fleet car managers and drivers monitor traffic conditions and vehicle performance. The group is developing systems that help local authorities to implement car-sharing clubs and other anti-congestion policies.
The new technology works on O2, Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile networks and is already being used by about 40 UK organisations, including a number in the public sector.
Location services are becoming more and more successful as companies seek to make themselves more competitive. Haulage companies use them to make their routes more efficient, while car rental groups also use the technology to keep track of their vehicles.
The purchase was funded by an undisclosed cash sum and the issue of 2.5 million shares worth about £50,000 (€71,800).
Shares in Cybit rose nearly 5% today, up 0.07p to 1.57p.
