NAVTEQ Expands Map Coverage in Caribbean Islands

Digital Map Supports Quality Navigation for Residents and Tourists

CHICAGO, June 9 -- NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of digital map, traffic and location data for in-vehicle, portable, wireless and enterprise solutions, announced today the availability of its premier navigable map in the Bahamas, St. Barts and the Cayman Islands. With the addition of this coverage, NAVTEQ now provides digital map coverage to the most popular American vacation destinations in the region. From tourists who come to the islands to enjoy the breathtaking beaches to local residents, NAVTEQ maps provide a wealth of information to enable turn-by-turn navigation.

Coverage for the Bahamas includes approximately 1,230 km of road network. St. Barts and The Cayman Islands include approximately 477 km of roads combined. Both St. Barts and the Cayman Islands coverage are attributed to NAVTEQ's highest coverage level. This means that NAVTEQ's entire portfolio of attributes have been applied and verified for the roads in these countries. Virtually all roads are included in the Bahamas map and those roads are also verified for accuracy. NAVTEQ includes up to 260 attributes which enable premier navigation experiences, providing efficient trip planning and accurate routing. Among those attributes is the location of gates. This can be particularly useful for vacationers and delivery personnel who need to access gated communities, common to the region.

Points of Interest (POIs) are also included in the maps. These POIs support vacation travel by enabling navigation system users to select their destination even if they do not know the address, simply by selecting the POI from a pick list.

NAVTEQ's coverage in the region includes those countries with the highest percentage of U.S. tourists.

"Our proprietary research indicates that over 75% of Americans who use navigation systems rely on them to support their leisure activities," stated Cindy Paulauskas, vice president Americas map and content products, NAVTEQ. "These same consumers who use digital maps for guidance and directions in the States can now expect to find the same level of consumer navigation experience when vacationing in the region."

In addition to navigable maps in the Bahamas, St. Barts and the Cayman Islands, NAVTEQ also supports the region with maps for Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. NAVTEQ maps are built using a standard global data specification. This allows NAVTEQ customers to easily replicate processes used to create navigation applications for other NAVTEQ maps to newly released countries, minimizing new investment and supporting rapid new market entry.