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News
Issue #2002 - 38
(October 2002)
(Updated Oct.
8, 2002)
TECHNOLOGY
New T-Mobile Deployments Confirm
E-911 Technology Meets FCC's 2002 Accuracy Milestone
OFFICIAL operator results filed today by wireless operator T-Mobile show
that E-OTD location technology complied fully with this year's FCC (Federal
Communications Commission) E-911 mandate and reveal a unique GSM industry-wide commitment to meeting the 2003 requirements.
Cambridge Positioning Systems Ltd (CPS), which has developed E-OTD as the
standardized GSM location solution, welcomed the filing which follows major
network deployments involving network equipment and handset vendors in
several US states.
The filing, which includes the most detailed results for any US location
technology trial, highlights:
- results from T-Mobile/Nortel deployment of
96 meters, 67 % of the time and 208 meters, 95 per cent of the time fully in line with FCC 2002 requirements
for 100m/67 and 300m/95 per cent
- results of Cingular/Ericsson deployment showing 90 meters/67 per cent of the time and 243 meters/95 per cent
- the world's first E-OTD enabled handsets now in stores
- unique vendor community - Ericsson, Nokia, Nortel Networks, Siemens and CPS - joint
commitment to meeting FCC E-911 accuracy requirements
- handset vendors - Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Panasonic, Samsung, Siemens, SonyEricsson create joint E-OTD handset working group
The report states: "The accuracy results from the E-OTD deployments are very
encouraging…T-Mobile continues to believe that E-OTD represents the quickest
path to full compliance with the (FCC) Phase II requirements for GSM."
It also includes details of an
organization - Joint Industry Working
Group that has brought together senior management and technical expertise
from global vendors Ericsson, Siemens, Nortel Networks, Nokia and Cambridge
Positioning Systems. Up to 1,000 engineering and technical staff from these
companies are currently working on E-OTD.
A second group, involving major handset manufacturers has also been formed,
the filing discloses, in order to further progress E-OTD handset implementation.
The groups' objective is to provide an end-to-end approach to the delivery
of the technology involving infrastructure, terminals and network design.
This will involve the sharing of expertise and information drawn from system
deployments in six US locations. Primarily, the industry-wide group will
focus on ensuring the technology meets the industry requirements.
CPS Chief Executive Chris Wade said: "The whole GSM vendor community is
behind E-OTD and it is this unique collaboration and commitment which has
helped deliver these results. The imminent availability of commercial E-OTD
handsets is also a powerful signal that the technology is meeting FCC
requirements."
Today's filing follows two previous FCC submissions from Washington and
Houston which also showed E-OTD performing in line with mandated accuracy
guidelines.
For more information: www.cursor-system.com
MobileInfo Comments and Advisory: This
is good news for E-OTD and CPS. There are GPS-based solutions that
will solve the problem with greater accuracy than E-OTD in future
but for now, E-OTD offers more promising and less-expensive
solution. The results achieved so far are impressive indeed for a
software-based solution but we should warn readers that our
rudimentary understanding of geometry tells us that accuracy of
identifying location of a user is a function of the location of
cells in a given area. What can be achieved in a test configuration
may not be achieved in a real network configuration if the cells are
sparsely spaced. Network engineers will have still another design
constraint in figuring out the location of base stations.
Note: This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Readers should take appropriate caution in
developing plans utilizing these products, services and technology
architectures. All trademarks used in this summary are
the property of their respective owners.
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