Category: Blog

You might have already heard the buzz around the 2G sunset. In the article below, we try to answer some of the most common questions about the 2G sunset and what it means for fleet managers.

Q: What is the 2G sunset?

A: The demand for mobile broadband data has sky-rocketed with the increasing popularity of smart devices and M2M applications. According to AT&T, in the United States, “…data traffic has grown at a staggering rate since 2007, and will continue to increase dramatically in the foreseeable future.” Therefore, some cellular carriers are phasing out 2G to better respond to customer demand for enhanced services.

Q: When will the shutdown of 2G start?

A: Fleet managers should begin planning right away for the North American 2G transition to avoid any interruptions in service. Although AT&T plans to retire its 2G network in the U.S. by January 1, 2017, it has declared that some markets and territories may be sun-setted before then. There are reports that AT&T’s 2G service shut down has already started.

Worldwide, 2G is the preferred wireless technology, particularly in Asia and Africa, and providers will continue to support 2G for the near future. Australia’s Telstra announced that its 2G (GSM) network will close by the end of 2016. No confirmed dates of the 2G shut down for Canada have been announced, although Canadian Business reports, “Industry watchers predict most telecoms will abandon 2G by 2020.”

Q: What are the advantages of 3G?

A: The key advantages of later generations of cellular communications are enhancements in functionality and speed. All things considered, moving to 3G offers the benefits of upgraded hardware, access to advanced fleet management solutions, and widespread availability.

Q: Why should fleet managers transition to 3G?

A: The 2G shutdown in North America will have a real impact on vehicle tracking and fleet management. Fleet managers with outdated 2G telematics devices will eventually experience issues with connectivity and their units will stop reporting.

Transitioning to 3G will allow fleet managers to effectively manage and track their vehicles. Many 3G devices are also backwards compatible; this means, if a 3G network is not available, they will fall back or work on a 2G network if one can be found.

Upgrading devices makes it possible to take advantage of the latest Geotab Marketplace mobile apps and add-ins for driver safety, fleet efficiency, vehicle health, and compliance, such as:

• Mobileye – Advanced Collision Prevention
• Geotab Drive – Smart Driver App for DVIR (Driver Vehicle Inspection Reporting) and HOS (Hours of Service)
• GO TALK – Live In-Vehicle Driver Coaching with Verbal Feedback

Q: How is Geotab helping customers with 2G hardware?

A: Geotab is offering a special promotion to help customers with existing 2G hardware upgrade to new technology.

• New Geotab GO7 Device Promo
• Free hardware switch for Geotab devices operating on the KORE, Jasper and Aeris networks.
• Contact your sales rep or [email protected] to see if your devices qualify for this upgrade to take advantage of this limited time opportunity.

Q: What are the advantages of the Geotab GO7 Device?

A: The new Geotab GO7 devices have several advantages over the older hardware. Over the years we have increased the data we can collect from the vehicle, including seatbelt usage, richer engine diagnostic data, fluid level monitoring, and engine health monitoring through temperatures. The older devices do not have enough memory to run the newer firmware so this data is not available on the older hardware.

G-force monitoring has also been improved; the GO7 takes more sensitive readings compared to early accelerometer in the GO5 devices.

Most importantly, the GO7 has the ability to add-on additional solutions or sensors through the IOX.

Benefits of the GO7 device:

• Fast GPS acquisition time for superior data accuracy
• High quality recording of valuable vehicle health and safety information
• In-vehicle driver coaching
• Accident detection and notification
• Compact and durable (no external antenna)
• IOX expansion for flexibility and third-party integration (e.g. temperature tracking, camera systems, etc.)
• Easy plug & play installation

Wireless technology is always evolving. Rapid advancement demands strategic planning to ensure that vehicle management and asset tracking is not negatively affected.

USA customers, contact your sales rep or [email protected] to take advantage of the Geotab GO7 promotion! Promotion ends December 31st, 2015.

For more information on the 2G Sunset, read this popular article:
“Elimination of 2G Networks”.

Original Article By Geotab
https://www.geotab.com/blog/dont-get-left-behind-2g-sunset-faqs/

Preview the latest updates to Geotab software applications and firmware, rolling out soon.

Check your build number to verify whether the changes are reflected in your system by going to Administration/About. The build number shows the month of release, for example: 5.7.1511.xxx release/2015-11.

In this edition:

• Active Tracking Enhancements
• Hours of Service Availability Enhancement
• Marketplace Configurations
• New Google Zone Import
• Group Management Enhancement
• Internationalization
• New Addition to Security Clearances
• Minor Interface Enhancements

Active Tracking Enhancements

Geotab’s Active Tracking feature for MyGeotab, which provides near-live vehicle animations on a map, is a critical tool for first responders, taxi companies, fleet owners, and other dispatchers who need to closely monitor the live position of their vehicles.

Previously, Active Tracking was enabled vehicle by vehicle. However, to accommodate managers of larger fleets, a new enhancement makes it possible to enable Active Tracking for an entire group of vehicles at once.

To make a bulk edit, follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to the Vehicles page and select the vehicles you would like to bulk edit. You can do this by selecting the drop-down above the vehicle list and selecting the visible vehicles in the list, individual or all in the group filter you have selected.
2. Select the Edit selected devices button to bring you to the device edit screen.
3. You will now have the option to turn on Active Tracking from the edit screen.

Bulk vehicle edit.

Active Tracking toggle in bulk edit.

Hours of Service Availability Enhancement

Fleet managers have a faster way to view the HOS availability of all their drivers. The Availability report will now load all drivers by default, instead of requiring the user to select each driver first. In the default setting, “All” drivers are selected. Click the Apply button to accept. When viewing HOS Availability, all drivers within the group filter should be displayed when first viewing the page.

Having faster access to HOS information enables fleet managers to identify which drivers are coming up to the end of their daily or weekly hours, and helps them avoid potential HOS violations.

Marketplace Configurations

In MyGeotab, the default setting has been updated so that users will see all available Marketplace applications. This includes both free and paid applications, including applications developed by third-party vendors.

Administrators have the ability to customize the types of applications visible to users through a toggle option. For example, the Marketplace view can be configured to display only free applications. To change this setting, navigate to Administration/System Settings. On the Marketplace tab, select the Off for “Display third-party apps.”

System Settings Marketplace option for setting application visibility.

New Google Zone Import

To streamline the creation of zones, which are a critical component in analyzing fleet behaviour, Geotab has made it possible to create zones from Google Keyhole Markup Language (KML) files using the Import KML Zones Add-In.

Geotab has developed a number of Add-In products which can be easily integrated into your MyGeotab UI. More information is available on the MyGeotab Software Development Kit (SDK) portal.

Import KML Zones add-in.

Group Management Enhancement

Quick edit functionality has been added to the Vehicle Edit section. When a vehicle is assigned to multiple groups, you can click the “x” to remove it from the group, while leaving the other assignments in place.

Management of Groups in Vehicle Edit.

Internationalization

Multi-language support has been extended to users. Report headings for default reports will be translated into the language currently set by the user. Users can also make use of this functionality for custom reports in any supported language.

To add multi-language support for a new custom report template, follow the appropriate method below.

From a default template:

1. Export the base report you want to build your custom from by going to Administration>Reports>Report Views, selecting the report, and clicking on the Export button.
2. Un-hide the Languages tab.
   + The Languages tab has English as its first column and subsequent columns contain French, Spanish, German, and Japanese. The column titles must be shown in English.
   + The other languages can be in any order.
   + Custom reports do not need to support all languages, a subset is acceptable.
3. If you add new header text in the report or summary tabs, you will need to add two asterisks before the heading (for example, “Date” would be “**Date”). Without the asterisks, the translations will not work.

From live data:

1. Navigate to the section you want to build your custom report from and run the report (for example, Activity>Risk Management>View>Advanced).
2. Un-hide the Languages tab.
   + The Languages tab has English as its first column and subsequent columns contain French, Spanish, German and Japanese. The column titles must be shown in English.
   + The other languages can be in any order.
   + Custom reports do not need to support all languages – a subset is acceptable.
3. For each tab, whether a sheet or a pivot table, at the English heading you wish to translate, type the prefix of two asterisks (for example, change “Date” to “**Date”). Without these the translations will not work.
4. If you create new columns, you will need to add them to the translations table, one per line.

Translating existing custom reports:

• If you have existing custom reports that you wish to translate, please follow the above steps for creating a report template from live data. You will need to create a new tab with the exact title “Languages” which can be hidden later if desired.

Noto Sans Japanese font

The default system font for the Japanese language user interface in MyGeotab has been changed to Noto Sans Japanese for improved Japanese language legibility. The Noto font family is being developed by Google as a means of supporting all languages with a font that is high-quality and reader-friendly.

Sample of Noto Sans Japanese font.

New Addition to Security Clearances

An additional security clearance for “Administer devices delete/unplug/replace” has been created for configuring user-level security. A user will now need this particular clearance to makes changes on individual vehicles. To add or change security clearances in MyGeotab, go to Administration/Users and click on the Clearances button.

Minor Interface Enhancements

• Vehicles are identified as “historical”, rather than “historic.” This change does not affect functionality.
• A cancel button was added to the rule edit page.
• The placeholder text for input fields and button tool-tips supports multiple languages.
• Route and Route plan changes include: numbering route stops; adding a drag icon to routes on a list; warning that if a trip is optimized it may change the stop order; clarification that optimization is based on shortest distance.

Questions or Comments?

If you have a question or comment about any of the items mentioned, please email: [email protected].

Source:
Original Article By: Angie Milne, Solutions Specialist at Geotab
https://www.geotab.com/blog/geotab-updates-preview-november-2015/

More Tablet and Smartphone Integration

GPS management systems are becoming more integrated with smartphones and tablets. This capability allows fleet managers to have job dispatch information, vehicle diagnostics and vehicle tracking at their fingertips no matter where they are. They will be able to make decisions about the fleet in real-time even when they are out of the office. This will help businesses control vehicle maintenance costs, reduce drivers’ poor driving habits, and lower fuel costs.

Customer Access

Some businesses are taking the use of GPS management systems to improve customer service a step further. These companies are allowing their customers to log into their GPS management systems application directly. Customers are able to check the vehicle locations in relation to their delivery, service needs and much more.

Other businesses are letting carriers and shippers access their GPS management systems application to improve receiving scheduling. Delivery companies are able to make better decisions about planning, and keep their drivers productive and happy.

Integration With Social Media

Some businesses are using GPS fleet management systems to let their customers know about the locations of their fleet. For example, food trucks companies are posting their fleet’s exact location on social media. They automatically update the GPS location to their Twitter and Facebook followers. Integrating the GPS management systems with social media applications helps the followers know where the food trucks are in the area, makes it easier to acquire more customers and helps the company cater to their loyal followers.

As more and more companies discover the different ways to use GPS location data to appeal to their employees and customers, more companies will integrate their GPS management systems with social media.