Taking a taxi in Malaysia is about to become more entertaining. Celcom and Gigalink recently announced a partnership to bring machine-to-machine connectivity to local taxis. Using Smarttaxiads solution, on top of advertisements and such, taxi passengers can stay connected via the telco’s 4G LTE network, and receive the latest news and events updates in real time.
Smartaxiads is a digital advertising platform that fits onto the headrest of the driver and front passenger. It stays connected to the internet on Celcom’s 4G LTE network via a mini router fitted inside of the headrest. The router also connects to the taxi meter, so as passengers can enjoy a full multimedia experience while monitoring their cab fare.
“This will efficiently enable our business partner to grow and have an “edge” in the market with our solutions, aside from enabling taxi passengers to enjoy wireless efficiency via fleet management services and the customisation that we offer.” – Afizulazha Abdullah, Chief Business Services and Solutions Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad.
To date, Celcom has already installed its M2M solutions in 500 taxis in the country, and expects to install them in another 1,000 taxis. For now, Smartaxiads only display ads and news updates to its passengers. In the future, they plan to include interactive applications, and even a panic button right on the device itself for enhanced passenger safety.
This is not the first of its kind in the country. Just last month, Taximonger and Telebiz also announced a similar partnership to bring interactive tablet to taxis in Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru.
