Tuesday, April 17, 2012

GPS Cell Phone Tracking Technology

New regulations concerning GPS cell phone tracking will make you more secure especially during emergencies. Under new FCC regulations (E911) all new cell phones must have a GPS chip installed during manufacturing. This allows the local 911 dispatcher to access your location during any emergency. This technology has already saved numerous lives. In addition it has help law enforcement agencies to track and arrest criminal suspects. In addition many manufactures have designed their phones to allow the user to use the phone for navigation. However GPS cell phone tracking technology is not without its critics.
Many people feel the new GPS cell phone tracking technology is another intrusion into their privacy. FCC regulations generally prohibit anyone from accessing your cell phone information including your GPS tracking information. Even law enforcement agencies are required to have a judicial warrant to access your GPS cell phone tracking data. However, there are several new companies that have begun to provide Private GPS cell phone tracking information on any cell phone user. The legality of these services is a much debated issue. State laws often have in some cases restricted these services. Private investigators, bail bond agents and friend of the court personnel are the most common customers for this service. Obviously there is the possibility of misuse of this information by stalkers and other criminals. Some people have refused to upgrade their phones in order to keep their phone location information private.
The new GPS cell phone tracking technology allows the phone company and 911 dispatchers to accurate locate your cell phone to less 100 feet in most outdoor environments however if you live and work within the deep canyons of an urban setting the accuracy will be degraded to 300 feet or more. Buildings that do not allow good cell phone coverage will obviously prevent cell phone tracking. In addition if are located within area that blocks cell phone service. Recently a woman lost control of her car while on our local interstate ending up deep within the heavily treed median. She was trapped in the vehicle but was able to call 911 for assistance. Unfortunately she was unable to tell the dispatcher exactly where she was. State troopers and sheriff deputies spent time looking for her but her vehicle was not visible from the Interstate. Fortunately dispatch was able to access the GPS cell phone tracking information for her phone. Troopers were able to locate exactly where she was located and she was extricated from here vehicle and taken to the local hospital.
Despite all the privacy concerns, the new GPS cell phone tracking capability is a valuable tool for emergency responders and law enforcement personnel. Hopefully law makers will monitor the use of this technology to make sure that the ability to abuse this valuable technology is limited. However we certainly hope that they do not make laws that prevent private citizens from using this valuable tool to track their own privately owned phones. GPS cell phone tracking technology that allows you to keep track of your family members through their cell phone keeping you and your family safe.

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