GSMA Initiative Helps Save Lives and Create Safer Roads for European Citizens

BRUSSELS - The GSMA, the body representing the worldwide mobile communications industry, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to secure the deployment of a single, in-vehicle emergency call service, known as eCall, across Europe. Rob Conway, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of the GSMA visited the offices of Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media, to sign the MoU on behalf of the global mobile industry.

eCall is an emergency call generated either manually by vehicle occupants or automatically via in-vehicle sensors in an emergency situation. When activated, the eCall system establishes a voice connection with the emergency services. At the same time, it sends the critical data including time, location, direction of travel and vehicle identification, to speed response times by the emergency services. There were approximately 39,000 deaths and more than 1.7 million injuries on European roads in 2008. According to the European Commission’s research, a service such as eCall can save up to 2,500 lives every year, reduce the severity of injuries by 10 to 15% and reduce emergency response times by up to 50% in rural areas and 40% in urban centres.

The MoU creates a framework for the introduction of eCall and is designed to encourage co-operation between vehicle manufacturers, telecommunications operators, the European Commission and the EU Member States, together with other relevant parties such as the insurance industry, automobile clubs and other industry partners. eCall, like emergency calls, will be offered free of charge to users. In addition to the free eCall service, vehicle manufacturers and service providers can provide additional commercial services to supplement eCall.

“eCall is a hugely beneficial and logical step forward in EU policy-makers’ attempts to reduce fatalities on European roads. The GSMA fully supports the European Commission’s MoU and, by becoming a signatory, we are formalising our members’ commitment to participate with other stakeholders in deploying the eCall service,” said Rob Conway.

For operators, eCall can be one of the many features supported by the Embedded Mobile Initiative, a programme driven by the GSMA with the aim to accelerate the adoption of wireless connectivity in a wide range of devices. In addition, operators will be able to offer new value added services, such as in-car mapping applications.

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. Spanning 219 countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators, as well as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA is focused on innovating, incubating and creating new opportunities for its membership, all with the end goal of driving the growth of the mobile communications industry.

For more information, please visit www.gsmworld.com

An eCall video can be found at: 212.68.215.195/esafety/ecall_hq_2b.wmv

The press release from the European Commission can be found here: europa.eu/rapid/

Source: GSMA

GSMA: Daniel Lowther: +44-7747-636-687, press at gsm.org; For further information on the GSMA programme and activity on eCall please contact Robindhra Mangtani: rmangtani at gsm.org, +44-7957-806261