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"Reverse GPS" repositioned as infotainment enabler
Dec. 12, 2002

A highly touted mobile-location technology being folded into wireless phone networks so heart attack victims can get to the hospitial quicker is also being eyed as a golden opportunity to rake in advertising dollars.

Mobile-location technology, in plain English, is a kind of “reverse GPS.” Whereas the Global Positioning System allows an individual to pinpoint his or her location, mobile location lets a wireless carrier know where each customer is.

A big push for deployment began about a year ago when the Federal Communications Commission issued a ruling requiring that all calls from mobile phones to emergency services be accompanied by highly accurate information about the location of a caller.

In a mobile locator setup, timing information from handsets is gathered up by reference receivers placed throughout a wireless network to continually update the carrier on each customer’s current whereabouts.

Currently, there are three mobile-location standards defined by the American National Standards Institute and its European counterpart.

One implementation that got a further boost in the marketplace today is “Cursor” from Cambridge Positioning Systems Ltd. It follows the Enhanced Observed Time Difference (E-TOD) version of the standard and is said to be accurate to within 50 m.

That boost came in a statement issued by Cambridge saying that it will work with Intel to integrate Cursor into a range of Intel Personal Client Architecture (PCA) building blocks aimed at the wireless and handheld markets. (Cambridge’s statement didn’t note information that does appear on Intel’s Web site; it indicates the latter has previously made a venture capital investment in the former.) Cambridge says it also counts Ericsson, Siemens, and Nokia among its customers.

Wireless carriers were mandated to start using mobile-location because of the obvious benefit knowing the location of a specific caller can be to an emergency services unit. However, along with its intended use, it’s now being offered up as having the potential for more commericial applications.

As Cambridge puts it in their statement: “This [Cursor] will enable users of PDAs and smartphones to take advantage of a growing number of commercial location based services in the U.S. and beyond.”

These, it says, are expected to include a host of consumer-driven “infotainment” services. Along with personal safety and roadside vehicle assistance, the list on Cambridge’s Web site includes fleet management, news, traffic, tourist information, buddy finders, games, and dating. The posted application description for that last item reads: “Meet the love of your life via your mobile phone by having alert messages sent to you when the right partner is near.”

One future issue which might arise is whether or not mobile-location technology could ever be used as part of a "Big Brother"-like surveillance system. In the wake of the Sept. 11th attacks, the U.S. Defense Dept. is moving ahead with the development of its "Total Information System Awareness" project. The $200 million effort centers on computers which will monitor data banks to keep track of terrorists. In such a setting, wireless mobile location could obviously help pinpoint terrorist cells. However, in the wrong hands, mobile location technology could theoretically be used for more nefarious purposes.

-- Alexander Wolfe, WindowsForDevices.com



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