e911 cell phone location query
Mind some dumb-ass questions about cell phone location technology and policy for something I’m writing? I’m having trouble finding a site on the Web that talks about this at a sufficient level of ignorance.
I understand that by 2005, 95% of cell phones in the US need to be able to broadcast their location with an accuracy of 50-150m. This is part of the FCC’s e911 (“Enhanced 911”) act. Here’s what I don’t understand:
1. The wireless carriers are required to track that information only if you make a 911 call. But will my cell phone be broadcasting its location continuously, or only when I make a 911 call?
2. I’m confused about the tech used by cell phones to determine location. Is it GPS? (If so, what happens when I’m indoors or in an urban canyon? And, if so, a GPS device receives; it doesn’t transmit. So does the location information just get encoded as a header or something in a 911 call? In all calls?) If it’s not GPS, what is it?
I’d ask smarter questions if I could. And, of course, please feel free to correct the part that I think I understand, too.
Categories: Uncategorized dw
I’m very new to this information. I came upon your site when I Googled “cell triangulation.” I need know how precisely a cell phone’s location can be determined; both for incoming and outtgoing calls. I am a prosecutor preparing for a Northern California murder trial, a key issue is placing the defendant and his phone near the victim at the time of the killing. His service provider claims that for several calls logged on his phone bill no cell site info is available. Any suggestions?
I have a couple quick comments. I used to work for one of the main wireless carriers. We were told that the government can track your cell phone GPS as long as it has a battery attached to it. Whether the battery is charged, dead, phone on or off, they can track it. The towers are NOT used for GPS. End of story. The url listed is for populard mechanics that shows a couple of web sites to track cell phone using GPS. For Burke, the wireless carriers definitely keep track of what tower the call was made on. That’s how they know how to bill you. On calling plans with roaming, how else would they know if you were roaming? Don’t deal with a store or regular cstmr srvc reps. Call and ask for a manager or the legal department. Usually you need a subpena (sorry about spelling), but that is DEFINITELY recorded info.
Does anybody know if there is a program extant whereby intelligence or police agencies can call your phone, let it ring once, then track your location? This is not fantasy. Legitimate comments only, please?
I would like to know exactly how to track a persons cell phone myself… I have heard that google earth pro may be able to do this. but it’s very inportant to the bailbond business.. and most sights that offer gps locations for cell phones are rip off’s or they charge way too much. for example they will charge 300 dollars then goto icu and pay 200 for the information. but i still feel both those prices are way too much there has to be away to aquire the software or equipment to do it our self. Please help we are in need of this badly
scary.
http://www.legalaffairs.org/issues/July-August-2003/feature_koerner_julaug03.msp
FWIW.
There is a retail cell phone tracking device available. I have no financial interest in it or the corporation which markets it.
It is a GPS enabled cell phone. It costs $99.95 on Amazon. The monthly service starts at $19.95.
The phone works like a normal phone (without a dial pad). In addition the location of the phone can be tracked by you from any internet connected computer.
You’ll get a street map, or a photograph of the location of the person. You could also track a briefcase, or a car, or a horse (if the phone were in the halter).
There’s a lot more info at http://www.wherify.com
Dave
i can’t believe there isn’t a service that will tell you where your cell phone is…. this is a million dollar business! if you get the authority to do it correctly- only let people track their own cell phones- people would pay rediculous amounts of money to know where they are! well i’m going to start the business then.
All I want to know is if big brother can determine my location by GPS or otherwise with out me making a call other than E911. I have a Motorola i830. Where I work everyone is in a panic that the boss is going to know exactly where any one of his employees is at any time of the day, even after hours, simply by using some software supplied by nextel to track his workers. Is this possible?
It might be possible only if your phones belong to the company/your boss. If you have a personal phone, then the answer is NO. Only the police can get that info. I do not know your laws, but a provider might have the “tracking” option for his clients. The precision is about 1 meter (depends of the area where U are) and U can be tracked at all times, even if you don’t talk to your phone. If you don’t want to be tracked, just close your phone.
Yes, it is possible. Every cell phone knows a cell id (the tower that it currently is “paired” with), and the wireless provider also knows at all times (given that your phone is on) where you are. They know with about 100 m precision, plus or minus.
Some phones, including your i830, has a built-in GPS chip. In addition, Nextel uses A-GPS (assisted GPS) technology which works by sending certain info from your phone to their server which performs some calculations and sends back location assistance info. Typically, getting precise location (within few meters) via GPS chip requires some time (from seconds to a couple of minutes), so cell id, etc. are used for instant location (with some loss of precision). That’s what most tracking programs use.
Vadim
http://veripath.us
Cell Phone Navigation with Traffic Avoidance
I have a similar location question. Does anyone know if cell phones in the US know what cell tower they are connected to, i.e. so an app. can use this to determin location although coarse? I have seen in Denmark, that the phone displays the tower information, but never in the US.
This is probably a stupid question but cant the police use Edwin Halls cell phone to track where his cell phone communicated with towers on the day the first girl went missing
or would he have had to make a call
i thought your cell phone is constantly communicating-is this insane or no?
god that would be nice in this case
Need Help.
An acquaintance visited our place. When he went out of our home, some important valuables were missing. upon investigation, all the odds point to him. but our problem is, we do not know if all info, like name, residence etc are true because his address is not a valid one. the only thing that is sure is, his mobile phone is still active, and we are able to sent SMS and he answered back. am from the philippines. is it possible to locate him? please advice me on what to do. thanks to all. my email is [email protected]
Posted news article from http://blog.cleveland.com/pdworld/2007/07/gps_joins_the_police_toolbox.html
GPS joins the police toolbox
Posted by Mark Puente July 31, 2007 06:22AM
Previous story: GPS watches over us
Interactive graphic: GPS systems made simpleA small tracking device has become so useful in solving crimes that many local police and prosecutors refuse to talk about it for fear of giving away investigative secrets. But chances are one is attached to your hip or tucked in your bag. Global Positioning System chips — built into cell phones — allow authorities to track criminals and people in need of help. Cell phones have become increasingly important in criminal investigations as people rely more on their phones for conducting business, whether legal or illegal. The technology played a key role in the investigation of the slaying of a Pennsylvania doctor on the Ohio Turnpike, and the convictions of his wife and her lover in the killing. All cell phones leave a trail for detectives to follow.
Every time a cell phone is turned on it sends a registration message, including the serial and phone numbers, to the closest cellular tower.
A tower receives signals from cell phones on all sides of it. The tower divides the area around it into three equal sectors. A GPS locator pinpoints the sector where the phone is. More than 195,000 towers dot the landscape of the United States.
And a phone sends updates to towers every few minutes as long as the phone is turned on, said Dave Houglan, an engineering manager at Verizon Wireless in Independence.
That capability helps find people who are lost or missing.
At the end of 2006, more than 233 million people subscribed to cellular service, according to CTIA-The Wireless Association, a trade group for wireless providers. Cell phone users make about 240,000 calls a day to 9-1-1 across the country.
In most areas, a local 9-1-1 center has equipment and database information that displays a cellular caller’s phone number and location. Even if callers are unable to say where they are, dispatchers can then deploy searchers to within 100 feet of the location.
If callers use an older phone without a GPS chip, searchers can narrow the caller’s location by using three towers to triangulate its last known spot by measuring the time it takes signals to reach the towers.
The technology can also be used to track the movements of crime victims and people suspected in crimes.
Some police and prosecutors say that talking about how they use GPS locators would help criminals get away with more crimes.
U.S. Attorney Greg White declined to discuss it. U.S. Marshal Peter Elliott said fugitive hunters use many tools to nab criminals, but he also declined to talk about it.
Special Agent Scott Wilson, spokesman for the Cleveland FBI, said cell phones are extremely beneficial in solving many cases.
It helps us if someone is in danger and foul play is suspected,” he said.
Using cell phones to solve crimes in not a secret.
“People, including criminals, watch forensic dramas on television every night,” said Aric Dutelle, a former narcotics detective and now a criminal justice professor at the University of Wisconsin.
Detectives can follow a drug dealer’s movements or eavesdrop by having a wireless provider reverse the signal. And some police agencies, Dutelle said, have equipment to track fugitives nearly in real time if officers have access to phone records.
Criminals commonly use prepaid cell phones because they are hard, but not impossible, to trace. Users do not have to show identification or sign a contract to purchase the phones.
Local police and prosecutors have used cell phone technology in court cases for years.
Recently, cell phones helped federal authorities solve the murder of Dr. Gulam Moonda. Donna Moonda will spend the rest of her life in prison for orchestrating her husband’s May 2005 murder at the hands of her lover, Damian Bradford.
She called Bradford nearly two dozen times with her cell phone on the day her husband was shot and killed along the Ohio Turnpike.
Investigators tracked the calls and messages through cell phone towers, a state trooper said during the recent trial. They could show that Bradford had trailed the Moonda’s car on the turnpike and abruptly turned around after the shooting. Bradford was sentenced to 17½ years in prison after admitting to killing Moonda.
And cell phone data could be the key evidence in the Jessie Davis case, a law enforcement source said. The pregnant mother was killed last month by Canton police officer Bobby Cutts Jr., police said. Authorities discovered her body in a Summit County park a week after she disappeared.
Cell phone records may be used to track Cutts’ movements or to determine if he contacted Myisha Ferrell, who is accused of helping him dispose of Davis’ body.
But the technology can also be used by defendants in criminal cases to try to establish their whereabouts and prove alibis.
Aside from being used as evidence in cases, Dutelle said the use of cell phone technology will also trigger court cases over individual rights and government snooping.
Consumers can decide if they want to be tracked by their wireless provider.
The GPS can be manually turned on and off. The phone, however, will automatically activate the GPS when a call is placed to 9-1-1.
There are some safeguards against Big Brother watching customers’ every move. Most telephone companies will not release any data without a subpoena.
“There is no open access to anybody,” said Houglan of Verizon Wireless.
Citizens applaud new technology, Dutelle said, when it’s used to locate missing persons, but criminals cry foul when it’s used to lock them up.
He added: “If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to worry about.”
“They can track you!!!”
I talk quite a bit about cell phone towers and signal strength and how to avoid dropped calls on my website. I have yet to be asked about any kind of tracking system from cell phones though and I have to wonder if it’s because most people don’t even know about it! with all the rapid advancements in technology, I’m suprised most don’t even know what RFID tags are! I would think it is common logic that if you can talk on the phone while moving and your call is being handed off from tower to tower that you are being tracked because the cell phone towers have to know where you are to handle your call properly. Your phone is more like a two way radio than a phone and whether your on the phone talking or not it would seem that the cell towers are tracking you anyway. How else would your phone know how many signal bars are available if this is not the case?
Ok I am dieing to find a program that will track any phone using just a phone number. It is all family so I don’t care how many safety precautions they take. And money is not an object, but it can be a new phone, and the ones we have don’t have GPS in them. It also needs to work in the United States. If anyone knows about this, please post it.
As I said in my website, all phones not having e911 location service will be completely phased out by next year. there are still phones being made which do not have e911 locater software built into them and the phone company that turns service on for it pays a hefty fine. That has been enough to make the phone companies comply whether it’s legal or not to have e911 capabilities! I believe that the only phone service where you couldn’t be tracked at all was AMPS, which was basically a two way radio with a keypad! http://www.mobile-phone-solutions.com