Indianapolis radio station debuts live mobile video for traffic

By Mickey Alam Khan

April 4, 2008

Cell Cam for traffic jams

Emmis Communications’ Indianpolis radio station has debuted a mobile service for area commuters to help sidestep traffic-jam issues.

Called Cell Cam Traffic, the free service from WIBC radio (93.1 FM) will help local drivers spot and avoid highway traffic jams with live streaming video to their mobile phones.

The advertising-supported service is aimed at the thousands of daily commuters in the Indianapolis area.

Users of the service will be able to watch the video before leaving home, school or work to plan the quickest and best route to their destination.

WIBC will rely on 56 traffic cameras operated by the Indiana Department of Transportation and is part of the Intelligent Transportation System.

The cameras are mounted along roadways in the WIBC-FM listening area.

New York mobile marketing and applications firm 3rd Dimension Inc. developed and operates the system.

Once the application is downloaded to the user’s phone from http://www.wibc.com/traffic after submitting the mobile number, he or she can choose to view live traffic images from any camera along the route.

The commuter can also program shortcuts for quick access to his or her favorite shots.

The WIBC Cell Cam Traffic application works on data-enabled phones supported by wireless carriers Verizon Wireless, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile.

The application also works on smartphones such as the BlackBerry, Palm Treo and the Motorola Q.

Emmis owns 21 FM and two AM radio stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and St. Louis as well as in Austin, TX, and Terre Haute, IN.