Traffic information system firm TrafficCast China has deployed the world's largest cellular probe system in Shanghai with China Mobile.

The anonymous mobile phone position and signaling data in China Mobile's GSM Network are collected, analyzed, and converted into travel time and speed information for major highways and surface streets in Shanghai. Currently, the system collects cellular data from 10 million China Mobile subscribers in Shanghai, and covers all roads within the Inner Ring Area, including 483 miles of major roads comprising 1,700 roadway segments.

Congestion is a major problem everywhere in China. Government agencies and the commercial sector are urgently searching for efficient ways to access reliable traffic information. This implementation in Shanghai is the first step toward an anticipated nationwide roll-out with China Mobile.

Professor Qixin Shi, China's leading ITS researcher and former Director of Transportation Institute at Tsinghua University at Beijing states, "TrafficCast International's cell probe deployment in Shanghai is state-of-the-art. When TrafficCast International's technology is deployed more widely it will enable China to leapfrog the U.S., Europe, and Japan, which rely heavily on traditional sensor technology, and it will support logistics management for the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games and 2010 World Expo in Shanghai."

Privately-held TrafficCast China is a subsidiary of TrafficCast Inc and is backed by Mitsubishi Corporation and Weather Central. The company is based in Shanghai.