[10-01-07 – Satellite Today]  Qualcomm Inc. has received a contract from the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide the United States and Mexico with near a satellite-based vehicle tracking system, the Transportation Department announced Sept. 27.

The contract will provide the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration with the location, speed information, trip details, date, time and mileage of trucks entering and exiting the United States as part of the cross-border trucking demonstration project. The system will use a Global Positioning System and wireless technology to monitor the trucks.

The systems will be installed at no cost to the trucking companies and is not required on U.S. trucking companies operating solely within the United States

In May, the Department of Transportation and Mexico’s Secretaria de Communicaciones y Transportes agreed to explore satellite technology as an enforcement tool for the cross-border trucking demonstration project.