Season One Research Files
Episode Ten
9:00am-10:00am
WIRELESS TRACING AND PRIVACY
The mobility advantage of wireless technology has made it virtually impossible for emergency dispatchers to trace wireless 911 calls or locate callers who don't know their location. With about 25% of all 911 calls nationally originating from wireless phones (about 50,000 - 100,000 calls daily), the situation has become critical. In 2001, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ordered wireless service providers be able to deliver the cell phone user's number and cell-site location information to a public safety agency.
Prior to introducing this new technology, a 911 emergency dispatcher would not automatically receive the cellular phone caller's phone number, name or any location information. While 911 emergency calls from a land line display an address on an operator's computer screen, mobile callers must identify nearby landmarks or have wireless companies trace the call to the closest cell tower for an approximate location. If a caller was disconnected or hung up, the dispatcher had no way of reconnecting. Emergency 911 began to more precisely pinpoint the location of callers beginning Oct. 1, 2001 under Federal Communications Commission rules. Full-blown commercial mobile location services are at least a year away.
The FCC-mandated improvements ordered AT&T, Cingular Wireless, Verizon Wireless and others to upgrade their systems and for phone manufacturers to include location devices. These companies now have to begin selling handsets that are equipped with locator devices or upgrade their networks so that a caller's location can be pinpointed by signal strength.
These new technologies can open up a host of marketing opportunities, but also potential privacy headaches. Marketers salivate when they think of sending targeted coupons and advertisements to mobile phones that are carried near shopping areas, for example. But the wireless phone companies, mindful that many customers despise telemarketers who bother them at home, are approaching the technology cautiously.
Some companies are developing an "opt-in" process that would allow marketing only where consumers give specific consent, a privacy protection policy that is unusual among major U.S. industries. The "opt-in" stance of wireless companies is in stark contrast to the "opt-out" position of banks. Banks released a flood of mailings to which their customers must return to avoid their personal data being used to market products and services.
< back