German firm Siemens has supplied the toll collection solution and the on-board units (OBUs) for Slovakia's recently launched satellite-based truck toll system, which uses GPS satellite signals for data capture.
The system detects the vehicles' position through OBUs and uses GSM mobile telephony to transfer the data (including the number of kms driven on toll sections) to the control centre for further processing.
Siemens' solution, distributed between the OBUs and the IT backend, controls the secure communication as well as key operational processes, including software updates on the OBUs through GSM.
The company supplied the solution to the system's operator SkyToll under a €81m ($114.5m) signed early last year.
The system will cover a total of 2,400km of roads from January 2010 onwards, with all motor vehicles weighing over 3.5 tons subjected to the electronic toll.
