The looming October deadline for carriers to comply with the Federal Communication Commission’s Phase II E911 requirements has implications beyond safety. Companies like Annapolis, Md.-based TeleCommunication Systems Inc. hope it will open up the market for its privacy technologies and set in motion many long-awaited mobile- location services.
Privacy, or lack thereof, has long been a major barrier to deploying wireless location services, but the issue of privacy also has consistently been pushed back in line behind E911 deployment. What many fail to realize, according to TCS, is that it is all pretty much one in the same.
“If you’re deploying E911, you’re deploying commercial mobile-location services,” said Timothy Zenk, vice president of corporate communications for TCS.
Zenk said both mobile-location services and E911 operate on the same core network. TCS has long been in the business of developing network applications that enable the delivery of Internet content, short messages and enhanced data services to wireless devices, including phones, two-way pagers and personal digital assistants, and its acquisition of Xypoint Corp. last November added mobile-location and privacy capabilities to its portfolio.
The company added a privacy center feature to its Xypoint location platform in March, which lets subscribers establish profiles that enable them to manage what companies can and cannot see and use with respect to their location and presence information. For example, a subscriber can choose to have only a specific roadside assistance firm locate them.
A subscriber using a network with TCS’ solution will either be prompted by voice or over the Internet when he is about to lose his privacy, Zenk said. The subscriber then can opt to continue the task or call, or not.
TCS said future versions of the privacy center will include advanced security features and additional subscription features. These filters could allow a subscriber to set preferences that would allow an employer to know his location only during the hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Accuracy filters could define precisely how close a subscriber can be pinpointed, such as within a block, half-mile or within a certain zip code.
TCS’ network-based location platform also was designed to help carriers meet the privacy guidelines set forth by the Cellular Telecommunication & Internet Association. The CTIA guidelines include requiring a company to inform subscribers of location practices and receive subscriber consent prior to using their location information. In addition, the guidelines call for data security and integrity provisions, and that subscribers have access to their information through a technology-neutral interface, TCS said.
