Andrew enables Mid-East geolocation

Details: Alec Barton; Category: Wireless Networks; 27 February 2006; 7939 views

Middle East North Africa

Andrew Corporation has won a strategic multiyear contract from a Tier 1 operator in the Middle East for a major geolocation system deployment...

Andrew Corporation has won a strategic multiyear contract from a Tier 1 operator in the Middle East for a major geolocation system deployment. The agreement, valued in excess of US$10 million for the first phase of deployment, calls for Andrew to install the first fully operational Uplink-Time Difference Of Arrival (U-TDOA) system outside North America and the Caribbean.

The Andrew Geometrix U-TDOA system will cover a network of thousands of cell sites, and initial shipments of product already are underway.

U-TDOA is a network-based means of determining a mobile device's position by comparing and calculating the difference in time required for its signal to reach different base station transceiver sites. Andrew Geometrix also supports the other handset-based and network-based wireless location methods (assisted global positioning system (A-GPS)) in both mobile-based and mobile-assisted versions, Matrix, cell identity (CID), and enhanced cell identity (E -CID) technologies. It also includes the secure user plane location (SUPL) standard. In addition, Andrew employs hybrid location methods that combine features from the individual locating technologies.

Location-based services may be of interest to:

consumers requiring navigation, motoring assistance, child tracking, vehicle location, and shipment status;
enterprises, in order to enhance vehicle and service dispatch, follow fleet movement, and track valuable assets; and
public safety, so as to help locate callers for emergency service centres.