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Mobile phone tracking


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mobile phone tracking tracks the current position of a mobile phone even on the move. To locate the
phone, it must emit at least the roaming signal to contact the next nearby antenna tower, but the process
does not require an active call. GSM localisation is then done by multilateration based on the signal strength
to nearby antenna masts.[1]

Mobile positioning, which includes location based service that discloses the actual coordinates of a mobile
phone bearer, is a technology used by telecommunication companies to approximate where a mobile phone,
and thereby also its user (bearer), temporarily resides. The more properly applied term locating refers to the
purpose rather than a positioning process. Such service is offered as an option of the class of location-based
services (LBS).[2]

Contents
1 Technology
1.1 Network-based
1.2 Handset-based
1.3 SIM-based
1.4 Hybrid
2 Operational purpose
3 Bearer interest
4 Privacy
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Technology
The technology of locating is based on measuring power levels and antenna patterns and uses the concept
that a mobile phone always communicates wirelessly with one of the closest base stations, so if you know
which base station the phone communicates with, you know that the phone is close to the respective base
station.

Advanced systems determine the sector in which the mobile phone resides and roughly estimate also the
distance to the base station. Further approximation can be done by interpolating signals between adjacent
antenna towers. Qualified services may achieve a precision of down to 50 meters in urban areas where
mobile traffic and density of antenna towers (base stations) is sufficiently high. Rural and desolate areas may
see miles between base stations and therefore determine locations less precisely.

GSM localization is the use of multilateration to determine the location of GSM mobile phones, usually with
the intent to locate the user.[3]

Localization-Based Systems can be broadly divided into:

Network-based
Handset-based
SIM-based

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Hybrid

Network-based

Network-based techniques utilize the service provider's network infrastructure to identify the location of the
handset. The advantage of network-based techniques (from mobile operator's point of view) is that they can
be implemented non-intrusively, without affecting the handsets.

The accuracy of network-based techniques varies, with cell identification as the least accurate and
triangulation as moderately accurate, and newer "Forward Link" timing methods as the most accurate. The
accuracy of network-based techniques is both dependent on the concentration of base station cells, with
urban environments achieving the highest possible accuracy, and the implementation of the most current
timing methods.

One of the key challenges of network-based techniques is the requirement to work closely with the service
provider, as it entails the installation of hardware and software within the operator's infrastructure. Often, a
legislative framework, such as E911, would need to be in place to compel the cooperation of the service
provider as well as to safeguard the privacy of the information.

Handset-based

Handset-based technology requires the installation of client software on the handset to determine its
location. This technique determines the location of the handset by computing its location by cell
identification, signal strengths of the home and neighboring cells, which is continuously sent to the carrier. In
addition, if the handset is also equipped with GPS then significantly more precise location information is
then sent from the handset to the carrier.

The key disadvantage of this technique (from mobile operator's point of view) is the necessity of installing
software on the handset. It requires the active cooperation of the mobile subscriber as well as software that
must be able to handle the different operating systems of the handsets. Typically, smart phones, such as one
based on Symbian[4], Windows Mobile[5] , iPhone and iPhone OS, or Android, would be able to run such
software.

One proposed work-around is the installation of embedded hardware or software on the handset by the
manufacturers, e.g. E-OTD. This avenue has not made significant headway, due to the difficulty of
convincing different manufacturers to cooperate on a common mechanism and to address the cost issue.
Another difficulty would be to address the issue of foreign handsets that are roaming in the network.

SIM-based

Using the SIM in GSM and UMTS handsets, it is possible to obtain raw radio measurements from the
handset[6][7]. The measurements that are available can include the serving Cell-ID, round trip time and
signal strength. The type of information obtained via the SIM can differ from what is available from the
handset. For example, it may not be possible to obtain any raw measurements from the handset directly, yet
still obtain measurements via the SIM.

Hybrid

Hybrid positioning systems use a combination of network-based and handset-based technologies for location
determination. One example would be some modes of Assisted GPS, which can both use GPS and network
information to compute the location (although in most A-GPS systems all computations are done by the
handset, and the network is only used to initially acquire and use the GPS satellites).

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Operational purpose
In order to route calls to a phone the cell towers listen for a signal sent from the phone and negotiate which
tower is best able to communicate with the phone. As the phone changes location, the antenna towers
monitor the signal and the phone is roamed to an adjacent tower as appropriate.

By comparing the relative signal strength from multiple antenna towers a general location of a phone can be
roughly determined. Other means is the antenna pattern that supports angular determination and phase
discrimination.

Newer phones may also allow the tracking of the phone even when turned on and not active in a telephone
call-. This results from the roaming procedures that perform hand over of the phone from one base station to
another.[8]

Bearer interest
A phone's location can be uploaded to a common web site where one's "friends and family" can view one's
last reported position. Newer phones may have built-in GPS receivers which could be used in a similar
fashion, but with much higher accuracy.

Privacy
Locating or positioning touches upon delicate privacy issues, since it enables someone to check where a
person is without the person's consent. 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 compute positioning data from the user's mobile phone.

In Europe, where most countries have a constitutional guarantee on the secrecy of correspondence, location
data obtained from mobile phone networks is usually given the same protection as the communication itself.
The United States however has no explicit constitutional guarantee on the privacy of telecommunications, so
use of location data is limited by law.

With tolling systems, as in Germany, the locating of vehicles is equally sensitive to the constitutional
guarantee on the secrecy of correspondence and thus any further use of tolling information beyond
deducting the road fee is prohibited. Even obviously criminal intent may not be interfered by such yet
available technical means.

Officially, the authorities (like the police) can obtain permission to position phones in emergency cases
where people (including criminals) are missing. In some instances law enforcement may even access a
mobile phone's internal microphone to eavesdrop on local conversations while the phone is switched off.[9]

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is tracking some cases, including USA v. Pen Register
(http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/USA_v_PenRegister/) , regarding government tracking of individuals.[10]

Some "Free" tracking services allow the cellular telephone number being tracked to be added to
telemarketers' lists.

See also
Assisted GPS
Base station

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Cell site
Global Positioning System
Google Latitude
GPS Phone
Locating
Location-based service
Mobile dating
Mobile phone
Multilateration
Positioning (telecommunications)
Real-time locating
Secure telephone

References
1. ^ "Tracking a suspect by mobile phone: Tracking SIM and handset" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology
/4738219.stm) . BBC News. 2005-08-03. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4738219.stm. Retrieved
2010-01-02.
2. ^ "Location Based Services for Mobiles: Technologies and Standards“ (http://to.swang.googlepages.com
/ICC2008LBSforMobilessimplifiedR2.pdf) , Shu Wang, Jungwon Min and Byung K. Yi, IEEE International
Conference on Communication (ICC) 2008 (http://www.ieee-icc.org/) , Beijing, China
3. ^ "Location Based Services for Mobiles: Technologies and Standards“ (http://to.swang.googlepages.com
/ICC2008LBSforMobilessimplifiedR2.pdf) , Shu Wang, Jungwon Min and Byung K. Yi, IEEE International
Conference on Communication (ICC) 2008, Beijing, China
4. ^ "Phone Tracking - online tracking system for Symbian Phone" (http://www.phoneonmap.com/en/How-
to-install-Symbian.aspx) . http://www.phoneonmap.com/en/How-to-install-Symbian.aspx.
5. ^ "Phone Tracking - online tracking system for Windows Mobile Phone" (http://www.phoneonmap.com/en/How-
to-install-windows-mobile.aspx) . http://www.phoneonmap.com/en/How-to-install-windows-mobile.aspx.
6. ^ ETSI TS 102 223 V9.1.0 SIM standard
7. ^ Vodafone Local Zone (http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/mobwire
/F41D663EAD41BC01CC2574B000133BB3) PC World.
8. ^ "Roving Bug in Cell Phones Used By FBI to Eavesdrop on Syndicate" (http://www.thechicagosyndicate.com
/2006/12/roving-bug-in-cell-phones-used-by-fbi.html) . The Chicago Syndicate.
http://www.thechicagosyndicate.com/2006/12/roving-bug-in-cell-phones-used-by-fbi.html.
9. ^ "FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool" (http://news.cnet.com/2100-1029_3-6140191.html) . Cnet.
December 1, 2006. http://news.cnet.com/2100-1029_3-6140191.html. Retrieved June 24, 2010. "Kaplan's
opinion said that the eavesdropping technique "functioned whether the phone was powered on or off." Some
handsets can't be fully powered down without removing the battery; for instance, some Nokia models will wake
up when turned off if an alarm is set."
10. ^ http://www.eff.org/issues/cell-tracking

External links
privacyrights.org (http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs2b-cellprivacy.htm#5) - Protecting Your Privacy
in the Age of the Super-Phone
Cell Reception (http://www.cellreception.com/towers/) - Google maps API to locate cell towers in the
United States
Cellphone Tracking Powers on Request (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article
/2007/11/22/AR2007112201444.html?hpid=topnews) , washingtonpost.com
GSM Localization on Mobile Phones (http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~walex/papers
/are_gsm_phones_the_solution_for_localization_wmcsa2006.html)
OpenCellID: An OpenSource CellID database (http://www.opencellid.org)
CellSpotting: A Global Cell Id-Based Information Service (http://www.cellspotting.com)
J2ME and Location-Based Services (http://developers.sun.com/techtopics/mobility/apis/articles
/location/)

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Mobile phone tracking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_tracking

LBS, the ingredients and the alternatives (http://www.gisdevelopment.net/technology


/lbs/techlbs006.htm)
Location API for J2ME (http://www-users.cs.umn.edu/~czhou/docs/jsr179/lapi/)
openBmap: Map and tools for a free and open Cell ID database in GPL and Creative Common
Licence (http://www.openBmap.org)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_tracking"
Categories: Geolocation | GSM standard | Mobile technology | Wireless locating | Crime prevention |
Criminal investigation | Espionage techniques | Mobile telecommunication services | Privacy

This page was last modified on 10 February 2011 at 05:21.


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