Mobile Phone Tracking

How Mobile Phone Tracking Works

Mobile phone tracking technology relies on the use of triangulation - taking the signal strengths registered from your mobile phone at a minimum of three nearby GSM receiver masts. As the mobile phone companies know the position of each mast, and can tell the signal strength of your phone at each of these nearby masts, they can use this to calcuate your position to a certain degree of accuracy (within about 50 to 100 meters).

Privacy concerns are covered - to track a phone you must have permission of the handset owner to do so. The phone owner is reminded by text message after approximately one month that the tracking service is active - so it is difficult if not impossibe for someone to set up tracking on your phone without your knowledge.

So who would use a service like this? Parents wanting some way of knowing where their kids are in an emergency would find this system invaluable, as would companies with sales staff on the road - to avoid the expense and disruption of having to call to find out locations, or for staff having to report back frequently. And of course for mineral collectors or other people involved in outdoor pursuits, it provides a simple way for worried people back home to find out where you are without disturbing you and without causing a panic. And if you're phone is lost or stolen, then you could get a little bit of a clue as to where it currently is (but only if you've registered in advance, you can't activate tracking after you've lost your phone as you need the handset to set up the account).

The cost of this service starts at £5 per month for up to 5 phones (with 10 free tracks per month), or £50 a year to cover up to 10 phones. Additional tracks cost between and 20 and 50 pence depending on how many tracking credits you pre-purchase.

14th Jan 2008