Qualcomm selected to monitor Mexican trucks

San Diego Union

Business Section 10-1-07

By Dan Caterinicchia, Associated Press

WASHINGTON--Chip maker Qualcomm Inc. will provide a satellite-based tracking system for all trucks participating in a U.S.-Mexico pilot project that for the first time allows the vehicles unlimited access to the other nation's roads.

But critics of the trade agreement on Thursday questioned how the Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will pay for the technology, since both houses of Congress separately voted to cut off funding for it.

The transportation agency said the tracking plan is being developed with Mexican offiecials after both countries agreed to explore satellite technology as an enforcement tool.

The systems will be installed at NO COST to the trucking companies and will be used to enforce safety requirements, including hours of service and direct shipping standards, agency administrator John Hill said.

After determining Qualcomm was the only company that could meet its requirements, the agency said it intends to award the San Diego-based company a one-year contract to provide satellite terminals that will relay the location, speed, trip details, mileage, and other data of the vehicles to an operation center. The trucks will be tracked by vehicle number and company, and NO DRIVER INFORMATION will be collected.

Other companies that believe they can meet the government's requirements have until October 12 to contact the agency. Negotiations with Qualcomm continue and no pricing information was available, agency spokeswoman Melissa DeLaney said.

Representatives of Qualcomm did not immediately return calls for comment Thursday. But a spokeswoman for the Teamsters Union, which sued unsuccessfully to stop the border program, said the federal safety agency "is whistling in the dark."

"Where exactly, does...(agency) expect to get the money for this project?" Teamsters spokeswoman Leslie Miller wondered.

The House voted in July to block funding and the Senate followed suit earlier this month, but the Transportation spending bills still must be reconciled. If the program's funding is cut off after the satellite-tracking contract is awarded, the deal is structured so that the agency can simply stop making purchases and end it, DeLaney said.

End of article.....

*Emphasis added with capitals at key points by this writer (Sparks3).

In our U.S. government if you don't get what you want, you proceed anyway!

 

Time to buy Qualcom stock.  Think it'll help the Chargers?

Gerald47 said: Time to buy Qualcom stock.  Think it'll help the Chargers?

LOL.....not this year unless they can buy their coach back.

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Sparks: Well its been 6 days now since your post and longer than that that the first Mexican truck came across the border. So I'm wondering how many have been stopped for violations etc. Sure would be interesting to know, especially how long it takes them to deliver a load to the east coast and back.