Some cell phones already keep track of their location and others soon will as carriers comply with government requirements that wireless networks disclose the whereabouts of people who dial 911.
It’s costing carriers millions to give wireless phones this tracking ability; now they hope there will be ways to exploit the new technology to boost revenue as well as improve public safety.
AT&T Wireless already offers a feature that can alert a customer if he’s in the vicinity of someone on his buddy list. Of course, a lot of people probably don’t want their cell phones to blabber their location all over the network, so carriers offer the option of giving out location information only when calls are made to 911.
But a person’s willingness to make his location known to others may be more nuanced, folks in the wireless business say. So researchers at Lucent Technologies Inc. have built an elaborate platform to let cell phone users make their whereabouts known to some people under certain circumstances while withholding such information from others.
“There isn’t any one-size-fits-all way to handle wireless privacy issues,” said Rick Hull, Lucent’s director of data and network services. “I may want my boss and subordinates to know where I am during working hours, but not when I’m off duty. A field sales rep may want to let some customers know where he is almost all the time, but not others.”
Sometimes a customer might be receptive to getting a discount coupon sent to his phone when he passes near a coffee shop, but most times it would probably be seen as an unwanted intrusion.
Lucent’s new technology will enable wireless customers to establish elaborate instructions for when they want total privacy and when they’ll disclose their location to certain people, said Hull. It also lets them override and fine-tune their privacy profile on the fly.
Giving the customer complete control over privacy management is essential if the carriers expect people to embrace location-based services, said Jason Catlett, president of Junkbusters Corp., a firm that provides privacy consulting services.
“The carriers know that if they mess up on this, people will have reasons not to take their cell phone with them,” said Catlett. “The carriers want people to think of their phones as a convenience, not a surveillance device.”
Later this year, Lucent will probably work with one or more carriers to test its privacy protection system, Hull said, and by next year, the system should be ready for commercial deployment.
As it develops, Lucent’s technology will probably be used to manage information that goes beyond location disclosure, he said.
It may tell others when a person is open to receiving a short message, but not a phone call. It will also likely help manage privacy issues related to wireline as well as wireless communications, he said.
“Giving out one number that will reach you anywhere is the kind of service this technology can help manage,” Hull said.
Westell widens line: Westell Technologies Inc., the Aurora telecom equipment-maker that generated profits during the recent industry meltdown, is launching a new family of products that will enable networking in homes and small businesses.
The firm will continue making DSL modems for Verizon Communications Inc. and other carriers and will now add to that a line of equipment to enable video, gaming, data networking and other applications associated with broadband service.
“Westell is fully committed to being recognized as a diversified broadband supplier and not simply a single-user DSL modem company,” said Van Cullens, the firm’s chief.
In coming years, Cullens said, supplying networking services and equipment will become a major business for telecom carriers.
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