By Arselia Gales

Verizon Wireless has announced a new fleet management solution that the carrier says provides a wide variety of monitoring and management capabilities for increased productivity and improved customer service.

Networkfleet, part of Hughes Telematics (which Verizon acquired last year), will debut in Verizons U.S. service fleet for improved monitoring, management and route optimization capabilities. Verizon is building on its and Hughes Telematics joint capabilities to help fleet, operations and risk managers use technology to improve operations by managing speed, fuel consumption, drivers and vehicles while optimizing vehicle use and routes using vehicle diagnostics to help hold the line on maintenance costs.

As one of the largest commercial fleet operators in the United States, Verizon recognizes the challenges and opportunities associated with managing fleets, and we continue to shape our offerings to help customers turn rolling assets into a competitive business advantage,” said David Small, senior vice president and chief platform officer for Verizon Enterprise Solutions. We see the fleet management space as a tremendous opportunity. We will continue to work with our ecosystem to serve this growing market, and we are committed to innovating in the machine-to-machine space.” 

Networkfleet combines in-vehicle hardware and a Web-based application to store, view and analyze data on specific vehicles as well as overall fleet performance. Vehicles are equipped with a GPS device that sends information to the Networkfleet Data Center over a secure wireless network.

Verizon will deploy Networkfleet to an initial 18,000 company vehicles which will help the company reach its sustainability goal of decreasing its carbon footprint. The solution can be used in a wide variety of industries including transportation, energy and utilities, government, retail and distribution, construction, insurance, healthcare and media and entertainment.