Suna expands traffic messaging service to Sydney, Brisbane

Suna has expanded its traffic messaging service, available in Melbourne since 2007, to the Sydney and Brisbane markets.

GPS devices equipped with a TMC (Traffic Message Channel) receiver and a Suna subscription can either inform the user of any delays on their route or automatically route around any significant traffic.

Some products – usually higher-end models – from Mio, TomTom, Navman, Garmin, Pioneer and Navway come with a TMC receiver built-in and a Suna subscription. Although lower-end models from those brands often have the receiver/subscription combo as an optional extra, Suna subscriptions are for the lifetime of the product.

Suna’s service broadcasts digital, encrypted TMC (Traffic Message Channel) data containing traffic information, such as incidents and delays, as well as major events and other factors that may be of interest to motorists. These messages are piggybacked onto an existing FM radio station’s signal – Mix 106.5 in Sydney and Gold FM in Melbourne – and received by GPS devices equipped with a TMC receiver and Suna subscription.

Suna collates traffic information at its Melbourne headquarters before being fed out across its TMC networks in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Sources include roadside assistance providers, emergency management services, roadworks registries, special event organizers and tow truck dispatch services.

However, the major components in Suna’s traffic information system are the state road authorities, such as the RTA in New South Wales and VicRoads in Victoria. They not only provide Suna with access to their traffic centers, but with live data from the sensor pads built into many roads, which regulate traffic light timing. This data is then fed into Suna’s traffic modeling software.

Suna plans to extend TMC services to Perth, Adelaide and Canberra sometime in 2009.

Left: In addition to Melbourne, Suna’s traffic service will now be available in Brisbane and Sydney

15 August 2008