Tele Atlas Survey Reveals Web Application Developers See Great Promise and Business Opportunity with Location-based Services - LBS Expected to Drive Revenue for Many Web Industry Professionals within 24 Months

Boston, Mass. - Tele Atlas (FSE: TA6, EUNV: TA), a leading global provider of digital maps and dynamic content for navigation and location-based solutions, today announced findings of the Tele Atlas “Location-based Services (LBS) and Web 2.0 Impact Survey” conducted at the recent Web 2.0 Expo.  The survey results highlight that the majority of developers see considerable business opportunity in the LBS space. 

Nearly 92 percent of the 638 Web industry professionals surveyed believe location-enhanced applications present a revenue opportunity for their companies, while more than 40 percent of respondents expect to drive revenue from location-based services within the next two years. Of those surveyed, more than 48 percent indicated that they planned to offer an application with location capabilities within the next year.

“LBS is continuing to build momentum, as a groundswell of Web industry developers create unique and valuable applications that cut across a range of services – from real estate to social networking and more,” said Darren Koenig, director of wireless, Internet and telecom markets for Tele Atlas.  “Web 2.0 represents a game-changing approach for developers seeking new revenue streams for their applications and for consumers and business users who are rapidly embracing these technologies to make their lives easier and richer through personalized access to their information.”

The survey also provides a snapshot of respondents’ perspectives on the location-based applications they anticipate will be successful in the growing marketplace.  Forty-seven percent of respondents expressed that social network integration will be the next “killer” location application, while points of interest (POIs) and real-time data also are expected to drive user adoption.  Additionally, technical professionals indicated that the mobile device is the platform of choice for development, with nearly 60 percent of those surveyed selecting it as the optimal hardware for location-based services.  

Koenig added, “We expect to see an even broader set of applications integrated across both phones and traditional web access as more and more Web industry professionals leverage our map database as an enabler for these innovative tools.  Developers can also access new and interesting content through Tele Atlas ContentLink to expand their offerings, helping to make these Web 2.0 applications even more compelling for consumers.”

The results are based on a survey of 638 Internet professionals conducted at the Web 2.0 Expo, held in San Francisco in April 2008.  Participants include developers, product managers, and financial, marketing and business strategists who are involved with Web 2.0 technologies.  Tele Atlas conducted the survey as part of its ongoing commitment to providing education and training programs to help support developer interest in LBS applications.  Through its DeveloperLink program, Tele Atlas offers Internet, mobile and other next-generation application developers access to the technology, business tools and services that can help reduce their time to market and increase their potential for success.  More information about the program is available at http://developerlink.teleatlas.com.  

About Tele Atlas
Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power some of the world’s most essential navigation and location-based services (LBS). The information is the foundation for a wide range of personal and in-car navigation systems and mobile and Internet map applications that help users find the people, places, products, and services they need, wherever they are. The company also works with business partners who trust its digital map data to deliver critical applications for emergency, business, fleet, and infrastructure services. Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers digital map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company was founded in 1984 and today has approximately 2,500 full-time staff and contract cartographers at offices in 24 countries and uses a sophisticated network of professional drivers, mobile mapping vans, and more than 50,000 data resources to deliver highly accurate and up-to-date digital maps. Tele Atlas is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (TA6) and on Euronext Amsterdam (TA). For more information, visit www.teleatlas.com.