Titan director Rob Murdoch said his company supplied the data SIM cards, which lie at the heart of Satcom’s vehicle tracking systems.
“Satcom operates a fleet of security vehicles on behalf of its own ‘blue chip’ clients, as well as selling its technology to other distribution and logistics companies. The technology is also used by the prison service to monitor the movements of vans transporting prisoners, and can be used to keep track of dangerous cargo such as explosives,” said Mr Murdoch.
Hi-jacked vehicles, and those presenting a potential terrorist threat in the case of explosive and chemical cargos, can be immobilised remotely using Titan’s SIM technology.
Trucks fitted with Satcom can be pinpointed with an accuracy of a few yards, enabling control room personnel to see at a glance when a truck has strayed from its assigned route, and send a check call to the driver.
Satcom, based in County Cork, monitors the status of all vehicles to which it is fitted. It can tell when an engine is idling, when the doors of a vehicle have been left open, and even when the brakes have been applied harshly.
“An unscheduled halt, or an unplanned diversion, can be the first signs that a hi-jacking is under way,” said Satcom’s UK director Mervyn Blank. “Our equipment has played a part in preventing a number of hi-jackings.”
Titan has worked with Satcom for a number of years, and currently provides more than a thousand connections to the firm – around 10 per cent of its total requirement - in addition to all of its UK mobile phones.