TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

How To Put Your Address On The Map

ADVERTISEMENT

The Washington Post

Published: October 22, 2007

Most of the online mapping sites can't find my home address. Is there a company I can contact to fix this?

Two firms, Tele Atlas and

Navteq, supply data to the big mapping sites. Both have Web pages where a user can report errors: mapfeedback.teleatlas.com and mapreporter.navteq.com.

A correction takes time to publish, however. Dan Adams, Tele Atlas' vice president of operations, said the company gets about 2,500 reports a week for the United States and Canada, and each has to be checked out.

The company first tries to address glitches that would endanger drivers - say, a map that puts an interstate off-ramp in the wrong spot. Adams said it aims to correct those within 90 days.
Navteq spokesman Joe Fox said the company resolves most user reports within 90 days, though he said some don't require research in the field and can be dealt with more quickly.

At each site, revised information must be rolled into the quarterly updates it provides to mapping sites. Fox noted that it can take another few months for new data to show up on a Web page.

While a correction works its way through this process, you can create a custom map on Google's site to point people in the right direction. Sign into your Google account (or create one if you don't have one), go to maps.google.com and click on the 'My Maps' link.

I just got a message on my Verizon cellphone telling me to call 228 to update my service. Is that legit?

Yes. Dialing that toll-free number and then pressing 2 will update your phone's 'Preferred Roaming List' database. Verizon's Web site says this will help your phone stay on Verizon's digital signal instead of roaming on another carrier's service.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT