Yesterday evening was a pretty typical weeknight within my home, I owned home from work
and filled up with gas before I got home, I left my house again at around 5: 30
to take my son to his Karate lesson. While I was out I stopped by the local
library to return some books and then swung over to the dry cleaners to receive
my tops and slacks and some stuff for my wife. I picked up my son from his
lesson and we stopped off at the grocery store to receive some bread and milk on
our which were found to the house.
Now, you aren't the first visitors to know my whereabouts that night. Because I
had my cellular with me, the cell phone company that provides my cellular
services knew where I was at the entire time. They followed me with my cellular
telephone.
How is this possible?
It will be possible because people who use their cell phone need to be able to make a
call whenever and wherever they may be located at the time they dial the number
on their phone. Therefore, the cellular companies must be able to route the decision
to the nearest cellular tower system, which will sends your call to the satellite in
space, which sends your signal to the person you are calling. The tower system that
handled the decision is typically logged (and stored indefinitely) on the wireless
provider's computers, though it's not noted on the consumer's invoice. In
order for the cell phone company to know what tower system you are at, they need to be
able to track the signal from your cell phone when it is on.
In the expanded age of advanced communication and the literally thousands of
issues of privacy that it has since spawned, many people would be horrified to
learn that they can be followed by the phone company via their mobile phone. The
phone companies claim this is a integral area of the service they provide,
privacy advocates say that this is just another way large enterprises have
breachedintruded our lives.
Wading into the mix over this controversy concerning your cell phone is another
larger and important player: law enforcement. Law enforcement agencies are now
utilizing the technology of tracking cellular signals to catch criminals and
terrorists. A few cases of dangerous criminals being followed and caught while on
their mobile phones have been documented and law enforcement is now fighting with
the cellular companies to ensure its continued use.
Have we lost our privacy by cell phone tracking or have we just gained a
valuable tool for law enforcement to use in keeping us safe? Do the cell phone
companies need to know where you are supposedly in order to provide their service, or have
they found, as some privacy advocates claim, a backdoor into your life, your
locations, your shopping habits?
Part One: Mobile 911.
According to the TechTV Show "Talkback", Cell phones show where you are supposedly, and
that is simply part of their design. Without the ability to pinpoint where the
signal from your phone is coming from, calls could never get in touch. Because
cell phones decry the use of wires, and the users making the calls are often on
the move, the decision and the receiving signal are not at a fixed location.
Therefore, the signal from the cell phone must be followed.
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