Tele Atlas Data Acquisition Story

The New Mexican has a somewhat rare article not about NAVTEQ capturing data, but rather about Tele Atlas capturing data. That process, at least for highways, involves vans with four cameras, automated image recognition, and direct updates to the database. The driver just drives and makes sure the cameras are not covered with bugs! The company is looking for summer interns to do some of that driving…

One issue that still puzzles me involves not how quickly the updates get from field to Tele Atlas, which is fast:

Comi said he used to make note of inaccuracies and someone would fix them later, but now the company’s system allows him to make changes immediately.

Rather, how are data providers doing in getting quicker updates to clients, say online mapping sites? Has that gotten faster, too?