NEWS

Ascom to Supply Five Year Maintenance Services to French Toll Operator Cofiroute

French toll operator Cofiroute signed a maintenance service contract with Ascom’s Toll Business Unit worth EUR 12,2 million (= CHF 19 million) for its entire motorway network in France. The five year contract was won by French INEO Infracom SNC to whom Ascom is a sub-contractor in charge of the toll equipment part. This award further strengthens Ascom’s position as a global toll collection supplier and integrator in Europe.

Ascom’s Toll Business Unit has been awarded a five year contract amounting to EUR 12,2 million (= CHF 19 million) to maintain all toll collection equipment on the motorway network of privately owned French Toll operator Cofiroute, covering 928 km in Central and Western France, and comprising 420 lanes in 60 toll plazas. Cofiroute contracted INEO Infracom SNC to start on January 1, 2006. Ascom is a sub-contractor to INEO Infracom SNC, an expert in telecommunications.

Ascom will hire 16 additional technicians for the maintenance of Cofiroute’s toll collection equipment and set up five regional service centres on the motorway network with 24-hour-surveillance. An important factor for the contract award was also Ascom’s ability to guarantee an optimized organizational and structural approach during the entire contract length by using a special software tool for global and centralized maintenance management. This tool allows the precise follow-up of the intervention teams, the management of the equipment and spare parts, the supervision of preventive and corrective maintenance, resulting in improved service quality and decreased cost and number of interventions at the same time.

“Cofiroute was looking for an experienced maintenance service supplier for toll collection and telecommunications. We were able to persuade the customer thanks to our proven methodology and technological expertise over the past years in toll maintenance contracts in operation all over Europe. Moreover, our partnership with INEO, allows us to offer a globally optimized service requested by the customer”, explains Patrick Lavergne, Ascom Toll Customer Service Manager.

In the past, Ascom has equipped and integrated more than 4,000 toll lanes in operation in more than 20 countries, supplying toll equipment as well as software using the most advanced electronic toll collection technologies (ETC) and providing full services from design to maintenance to large Toll operators worldwide.

About Ascom
Ascom is an international solution provider with comprehensive technological know-how. In future the company aims to concentrate on the core areas of Wireless Solutions (high-value, customer-specific on-site communications solutions) and Security Solutions (applications for security, communication, automation and control systems for infrastructure operators, public security institutions and the army).

The Special Products Division covers the activities of Network Integration (network solutions for the data/voice convergence market) in Italy and Payphones (specialised products for voice traffic). With a wealth of experience in implementing complex projects for discerning customers, Ascom has established itself in important key markets.

Offerings range from analysis and consulting to system design and system integration, project management, engineering and implementation, right through to maintenance and support. The company has subsidiaries in 17 countries and a workforce of some 2,700 employees worldwide. Ascom registered shares (ASCN) are listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange in Zurich.

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