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Moscow To Track Cell-phone Users In 2015 For Traffic Analysis

Posted by timothy on from the why-do-you-hate-freedom? dept.

An anonymous reader links to this story at The Stack (based on this translated report) that "The Moscow authorities will begin using the signal from Muscovites' cell-phones in 2015 to research patterns of traffic and points of congestion, with a view to changes in travel infrastructure including roads, the Moscow metro and bus services. The tracking, which appears to opt all users in unilaterally, promises not to identify individual cell-phone numbers, and will use GSM in most cases, but also GPS in more densely-constructed areas of the old city. The system is already in limited use on the roads, but will be extended to pedestrians and subway users in 2015. The city of 11.5 million people has three main cell providers, all of whom cooperate fully with authorities' request for information. A representative of one, Beeline, said: "We prepare reports that detail where our subscribers work, live, move, and other aspects."

6 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. Wow ... by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So, does this mean that Russia is finally catching up with the US in terms of monitoring its citizens?

    The mind reels.

    Papers please, comrade.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    1. Re:Wow ... by RingDev · · Score: 4, Interesting

      They're beating us in this one.

      Current traffic monitoring systems use either CC video analysis, ramp meters, magnetic loop, or blue tooth detection. I've heard of systems to pick up tire pressure indicator signals also, but I haven't seen them first hand.

      With all of that, we get ~5-7% of the vehicle speed data on select routes.

      In 2017 new requirements go into effect to require all vehicles produced for use in the US to include V2V communications systems. Most of these systems also include V2I communications. Even if they don't, I'd expect detecting that a specific V2V entity just drove past is going to be trivial.

      So by the end of 2017, we're going to be on parity with all of our current assorted solutions for penetration. By the end of 2018, we'll have double the penetration. By 2020, roughly 20-25% of all vehicles will contain V2V and/or V2I communications.

      So what does that mean? It means we could generate optimum route data and re-route traffic based on travel time recommendations before they get onto a major road with limited access and a traffic issue on the desired route.

      It also means we can identify true bottlenecks and take completely new approaches to road engineering and project prioritization. This alone is a multi-billion dollar a year industry, funded largely by tax payers. If we can find more efficient ways of taking on these projects, it means less expenditures (or more projects).

      But it comes with down sides. A policing agency could in theory query the system to see where you currently are, or where your vehicle was at a specific time. It also makes it possible for the mile traveled road tax, where you can be taxed by mile driven, and those taxes can vary and be distributed by municipalities that own those roads. And of course there is a security concern that a hacker or malicious user could determine your driving habits and use the information to their advantage. I did even hear a member of the law enforcement community asking about such a system's ability to disable vehicles remotely in the case of excessive speed, chases, etc...

      Basically, there's a huge shift coming in the US and how we (and the government) interact with our vehicles.

      -Rick

      --
      "Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
    2. Re:Wow ... by Solandri · · Score: 2

      They're beating us in this one.

      Current traffic monitoring systems use either CC video analysis, ramp meters, magnetic loop, or blue tooth detection. I've heard of systems to pick up tire pressure indicator signals also, but I haven't seen them first hand.

      Er, no. I was playing around with the traffic feature in Google Maps (which shows you how bad traffic congestion is). I had always assumed they were getting their data from CalTrans cameras along the freeways or something. But then I zoomed in and noticed they had traffic info for the major streets. I zoomed in some more and I noticed it showed traffic levels for the street in front of my house, where I know there aren't any cameras or magnetic loop road sensors.

      That's when it hit me. Google is using the GPS-measured movements of people in cars with Android phones in their pockets to generate real-time traffic maps. That's what it means when you click OK to sending anonymized location info from your phone back to Google. (Apple did a similar thing to generate their geographical wifi hotspot map as a backup for GPS. Google actually did that The Right Way - by sending employee-driven cars all around the world recording wifi network SSIDs (and a little else by accident), and the EU crucified them for it. Apple did it by pulling GPS and wifi data from private individuals' iPhones, and no regulatory agency raised a fuss about it.)

  2. Re:So turn off your phone by sribe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why does your phone have to be on all the time anyway?

    Uhm, in order to receive calls???

  3. NSA says .... by PPH · · Score: 2

    ... weclome to the club.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  4. Re:So turn off your phone by spacec0w · · Score: 2

    In other words, you don't have much of a social life.