THE threat of global terrorism causing a major disaster at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Athens has prompted the Greek authorities to sign the biggest fleet telematics contract in the country's history.

A telematics system produced by UK company Tracker Network will be used to monitor thousands of emergency services and security vehicles during the games, which are being held in August.

Tracker will fit its units to 2,500 police, 800 fire and 705 ambulance vehicles as well as 150 sports utility vehicles.

The units, through a command and control system, will show more than 600 operators the exact positioning of emergency vehicles so they can respond immediately to any security threat during the event.

Worth €5 million, the security contract was placed with Group 4 Telematix, which opted to use the Tracker system.

The 600 operators will use an intranet system to gain access to all vehicle movements and locations on a minute-by-minute basis.

In the event of a major incident, the location will be sent to in-vehicle terminals which will guide the driver to it.

The systems will also be installed in the buses used to transport athletes around the city of Athens and 55 small boats, which will be operated by Port Security.

Mike Maltezakis, of Group 4 Telematix, said: 'Tracker will be used to ensure the smooth-running of incident management during the Olympic Games.

Tracker will enable us to be fully prepared to cope immediately with any unforeseen situations and incidents that may occur due to the huge numbers of visitors anticipated who will want to enjoy this fabulous sporting occasion.'

Tracker's business manager for vehicle asset management, Stuart Brunger, added: 'This agreement goes beyond supply only. We will also provide a project management and training service as well as telematics consultancy expertise to ensure that the system is utilised to full effectiveness.'