GPS Meets PCS

The Donald writes: "According to an article at News.com, Sprint PCS will be starting to implement E911 calls in Rhode Island sometime in October. The FCC required that all cell phone providers have an improved E911 system in place by October first. This is the first step in making the E911 a reality, with Sprint being the first major company to actually put a phone on the market that will work with E911; instead of just filing papers with the FCC saying the implementation is just to hard. The Samsung N300 phone will use GPS to track the people down. I like the idea, I just hope the phone will display the GPS information, and there is a way to opt-out for all of the location based advertisements you will get with your GPS enabled phone."

Comments

Re:GPS and Cell phones?

[grammar nazi]

My question is who will issue the speeding tickets? Will the phone company call you and say, "Your cel phone GPS recorded that you are presently driving 90 in a 55. We have alerted the local law enforcement of your violation." or will the police station handle the phonecall once they have been notfied?

Perhaps the new Verizon/Disney/AOL/U.S.Justice.Dept will handle the entire issue by adding the fine to your monthly bill!

Idea after being mugged last year...

[Geek Dash Boy]

After getting mugged last year, I wrote down an idea for installing panic buttons in my blog.

I was 1.5 blocks from my apartment in Brooklyn when the guy grabbed my left arm and pressed a knife into my ribs.

As I reached into my right back pocket to get my wallet, my arm was pressing against my phone (Sprint PCS). It would have been very easy to activate some sort of panic button.

He only took about $60, but what if I were getting the shit kicked out of me, or raped, or whatever...

Does PCS *need* GPS for positional data?

[Shanep]

In Australia, with GSM, you call 000 or the international GSM emergency number (I forgot it), and it will automatically call the Fire/Ambo/Police number through your network provider (Telstra, Optus, Vodaphone or a reseller), if you have no signal to your own provider it will allow usage of any provider you have signal with for your emergency call. Even without a SIM card inserted in the phone. This is a legal requirement and seems to be a feature built in to GSM itself.

Due to the very precise time division multiplexing used with GSM, the distance you are from the base station you are currently subscribed can be gleaned down to a metre. If they can force your phone to switch to 2 other cells after an emergency call, they could probably pin point you without GPS. With the hidden Network menus in Motorolla StarTac GSM and Nokia phones, you can see how far you are from the base station in metres.

SPCS Cell location- not GPS but still useful

[sodergren]

If you have a Sprint TP2200 (and probably other touchpoint models), try this:

##33284 (scroll down to SAVE)
select SERVICE SCREEN and hit Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the
debug screen.

Last two lines are labeled LT and LG- those are
the lat/lng of the cell your phone is talking to.

Don't know how accurate it is; the cell my phone
picks up at home is (according to these numbers)
in the middle of the Detroit River.