TeleAtlas is selling speed profile data as collected by TomTom (devices) as reported by O’Reilly Radar.

TomTom devices have been collecting tracking data. This data is sent back to the company when new map data is uploaded to the device (can this be true?).

TomTom has been using this data to calculate speed profiles (dynamic travel time maps), i.e., what is the typical speed on a piece of road depending (i) on the time of the day and (ii) the day of the week!

Essentially, TomTom has been collecting historic FCD from “its” vehicle fleet (and large numbers of those) to compute such typical speeds for the roads. Given the clout of the company, these data will really be of use to provide more accurate routing solutions.

Similar approaches are underway from NAVTEQ! Stay tuned!

Btw., has Google missed this trend or will the data collection be an Android feature?