Positioning (telecommunications)
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Mobile positioning is an experimental technique used by telecommunication companies to approximate where a mobile phone, and thereby also its owner, is.
The technique is based around the fact that a mobile phone always communicates wirelessly with the closest base station, so if you know which base station the phone communicates with, you know that the phone is close to the base station.
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[edit] Precision
Further approximation can be done by interpolating signals between the phone and neighbouring base stations. Good services can obtain a precision of down to 50 meters in urban areas where mobile traffic and density of base stations is higher. Rural and desolate areas may see miles between base stations and are therefore less precise.
[edit] Privacy
Since positioning touches upon delicate privacy issues (checking where a person is), strict ethics and security measures are strongly recommended for services that employ positioning, and the user must give an informed, explicit consent to a service provider before the service provider can request positioning data from his mobile service provider.
Police authorities can obtain permission to position phones in emergency cases where people are missing.
[edit] Commercialization
Positioning technology has been around for several years, but as not yet been commercialized in any greater sense.
[edit] Alternatives
GPS units, though more costly than a mobile phone, are tailor-made for the purpose of positioning, and provides commercial handsets with a precision of down to 5 meters.
[edit] List of services
List of services that employ mobile positioning in their services:
- Super Local Media - A Scandinavian media and technology company
