Tracking and Positioning of Mobiles in Telecommunication

ABSTRACT

Mobile positioning technology has become an important area of research, for

emergency as well as for commercial services. Mobile positioning in cellular networks

will provide several services such as, locating stolen mobiles, emergency calls, different

billing tariffs depending on where the call is originated, and methods to predict the user

movement inside a region.

The evolution to location-dependent services and applications in wireless

systems continues to require the development of more accurate and reliable mobile

positioning technologies. The major challenge to accurate location estimation is in

creating techniques that yield acceptable performance when the direct path from the

transmitter to the receiver is intermittently blocked.

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Tracking and Positioning of Mobiles in Telecommunication

INTRODUCTION

A mobile tracking and positioning system includes a plurality of mobile transmit

and receive stations that track a mobile target which emits a radio signal in response to

the occurrence of a tracking effort initiation event. The tracking stations have a GPS

receiver or like means for determining their position, a radio direction finder responsive

to the radio signal that determines the vector to the mobile target, a two-way

communications system and a computer. The mobile transmit and receive stations

exchange their position and direction to target information via the two-way

communications systems, enabling the stations to triangulate the location of the target

with their computers.

Mobile phone tracking tracks the current position of a mobile phone even on the

move. To locate the phone, it must emit at least the roaming signal to contact the next

nearby antenna tower, but the process does not require an active call. GSM localisation is

then done by multilateration based on the signal strength to nearby antenna masts.

Mobile positioning, i.e. location based service that discloses the actual

coordinates of a mobile phone bearer, is a technology used by telecommunication

companies to approximate where a mobile phone, and thereby also its user (bearer),

temporarily resides. The more properly applied term locating refers to the purpose rather

than a positioning process. Such service is offered as an option of the class of location-

based services.

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MOBILE TRACKING

Mobile phone tracking tracks the current position of a mobile phone even

on the move. To locate the phone, it must emit at least the roaming signal to contact the

next nearby antenna tower, but the process does not require an active call. GSM

localisation is then done by multilateration based on the signal strength to nearby antenna

masts.

In order to route calls to your phone the cell towers listen for a signal sent

from the phone and negotiate which tower is best able to communicate with the phone.

As the phone changes location, the towers monitor the signal and the phone is switched to

a different tower as appropriate. By comparing the relative signal strength from multiple

towers a general location of a phone can be determined.

The technology of tracking is based on measuring power levels and antenna

patterns and uses the concept that a mobile phone always communicates wirelessly with

one of the closest base stations, so if you know which base station the phone

communicates with, you know that the phone is close to the respective base station.

Advanced systems determine the sector in which the mobile phone resides

and roughly estimate also the distance to the base station. Further approximation can be

done by interpolating signals between adjacent antenna towers. Qualified services may

achieve a precision of down to 50 meters in urban areas where mobile traffic and density

of antenna towers (base stations) is sufficiently high. Rural and desolate areas may see

miles between base stations and therefore determine locations less precisely.

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Operational purpose

In order to route calls to a phone the cell towers listen for a signal sent

from the phone and negotiate which tower is best able to communicate with the phone.

As the phone changes location, the antenna towers monitor the signal and the phone is

roamed to an adjacent tower as appropriate.

By comparing the relative signal strength from multiple antenna towers a

general location of a phone can be roughly determined. Other means is the antenna

pattern that supports angular determination and phase discrimination.

Newer phones may also allow the tracking of the phone even when turned

on and not active in a telephone call-. This results from the roaming procedures that

perform hand over of the phone from one base station to another.

The principle of tracking is based on GSM localisation.

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GLOBAL SYSTEM FOR MOBILE COMMUNICATION (GSM)

GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) is the most popular

standard for mobile phones in the world. Its promoter, the GSM Association, estimates

that 82% of the global mobile market uses the standard. GSM is used by over 3 billion

people across more than 212 countries and territories. Its ubiquity makes international

roaming very common between mobile phone operators, enabling subscribers to use their

phones in many parts of the world. GSM differs from its predecessors in that both

signaling and speech channels are digital, and thus is considered a second generation

(2G) mobile phone system. This has also meant that data communication was easy to

build into the system.

The ubiquity of the GSM standard has been an advantage to both

consumers (who benefit from the ability to roam and switch carriers without switching

phones) and also to network operators (who can choose equipment from any of the many

vendors implementing GSM).GSM also pioneered a low-cost (to the network carrier)

alternative to voice calls, the Short message service (SMS, also called "text messaging"),

which is now supported on other mobile standards as well. Another advantage is that the

standard includes one worldwide Emergency telephone number; 112This makes it easier

for international travelers to connect to emergency services without knowing the local

emergency number.

Newer versions of the standard were backward-compatible with the

original GSM phones. For example, Release '97 of the standard added packet data

capabilities, by means of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). Release '99 introduced

higher speed data transmission using Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE).
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The network behind the GSM system seen by the customer is large and

complicated in order to provide all of the services which are required. It is divided into a

number of sections and these are each covered in separate articles.

• The Base Station Subsystem (the base stations and their controllers).

• The Network and Switching Subsystem (the part of the network most similar to a

fixed network). This is sometimes also just called the core network.

• The GPRS Core Network (the optional part which allows packet based Internet

connections).

• All of the elements in the system combine to produce many GSM services such as

voice calls and SMS.

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GSM is designed to provide recommendations only. It does not cater to the

requirements. The specification does not include any hardware details but only define the

functions and interface requirements. It has been done intentionally so that there is limit

to the designers but still they are able to make it possible for the operators to buy the

instrument or handset from different suppliers.

The GSM network is divided into three major systems: the switching

system (SS), the base station system (BSS), and the operation and support system(OSS).

The Mobile Station is contained in the handset only which is carried by the subscriber.

The Base Station Subsystem sets and controls the radio link of the network with the

Mobile Station. The Network Subsystem controls the main part i.e. the Mobile services

Switching Center (MSC). The MSC performs the switching of calls between the mobile

users and between mobile and fixed network users. The MSC also takes care of the the

mobility regarding the various management operations.

MobileStation
The mobile station (MS) consists of the mobile equipment and Subscriber

Identity Module (SIM) card. The SIM identifies the network and provides personal

authentication. One can insert the SIM card to any other handset and still be able to

receive call, make calls from that terminal, and receive other subscribed services or

services offered by the network The mobile equipment is uniquely identified by the

International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI).The SIM card contains the International

Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and uses this to identify the subscriber by secret key.

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BaseStationSubsystem

The Base Station Subsystem is composed of two parts, the Base

Transceiver Station (BTS) and the Base Station Controller (BSC). The Base Transceiver

Station contains radio transceivers defining a cell and handles radio-link protocols.

NetworkSubsystem

Central component of the Network Subsystem is the Mobile services

Switching Center (MSC). It acts like a normal switching node of the PSTN or ISDN.

Besides this it also provides the required functionality to handle a mobile subscriber. This

may include registration, authentication, location updating, handovers, etc. The MSC

provides the connection to the fixed networks such as the PSTN or ISDN.

Subscriber Identity Module

One of the key features of GSM is the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM),

commonly known as a SIM card. The SIM is a detachable smart card containing the

user's subscription information and phone book. This allows the user to retain his or her

information after switching handsets. Alternatively, the user can also change operators

while retaining the handset simply by changing the SIM. Some operators will block this

by allowing the phone to use only a single SIM, or only a SIM issued by them; this

practice is known as SIM locking, and is illegal in some countries.

In Australia, North America and Europe many operators lock the mobiles

they sell. This is done because the price of the mobile phone is typically subsidized with

revenue from subscriptions, and operators want to try to avoid subsidizing competitors’

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mobiles. A subscriber can usually contact the provider to remove the lock for a fee, utilize

private services to remove the lock, or make use of ample software and websites

available on the Internet to unlock the handset themselves. While most web sites offer the

unlocking for a fee, some do it for free. The locking applies to the handset, identified by

its International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, not to the account (which is

identified by the SIM card).

GSM security

GSM was designed with a moderate level of security. The system was

designed to authenticate the subscriber using a pre-shared key and challenge-response.

Communications between the subscriber and the base station can be encrypted. The

development of UMTS introduces an optional USIM, that uses a longer authentication

key to give greater security, as well as mutually authenticating the network and the user -

whereas GSM only authenticates the user to the network (and not vice versa). The

security model therefore offers confidentiality and authentication, but limited

authorization capabilities, and no non-repudiation. GSM uses several cryptographic

algorithms for security.

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Specifications of GSM

The following list given below is a brief description of the specifications and

characteristics of GSM.

1. Frequency Band-The frequency range specified for GSM is 1,850 to 1,990 MHz.

2. Duplex distance-The duplex distance is 80 MHz. This is the distance between the

uplink and downlink frequencies.

3. Channel separation- In GSM there is 200 kHz separation between the adjacent carrier

frequencies.

4. Modulation- It is the process of sending a signal by changing the characteristics of a

carrier frequency. Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK) is used for this purpose in

GSM.

5. Transmission rate-GSM has an over-the-air bit rate of 270 kbps.

6. Access method-TDMA is used in GSM. TDMA is a technique in which several

different calls may share the same carrier. A particular slot is made available to each

call.

7. Speech coder-GSM uses linear predictive coding, LPC. The main purpose of LPC is

to reduce the bit rate. Speech is encoded at 13 kbps.

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Additional Services in GSM

There are many supplementary services provided by GSM to generate more revenue.

This comprehensive set of supplementary services include--

1. Call forwarding-This service allows to forward the incoming calls to another number

if the called mobile unit is not reachable, busy or there is no reply. This will happen

only if the call forwarding is allowed unconditionally.

2. Barring of outgoing calls-This service allows to prevent all outgoing calls.

3. Barring of incoming calls-This allows the subscriber to prevent incoming calls.

4. Advice of charge-This service provides the mobile subscriber with an estimate of the

call charges.

5. Call hold-This service enables the subscriber to interrupt an ongoing call and then

subsequently switch to another call.

6. Call waiting-This service allows the mobile subscriber to be notified of an incoming

call during a conversation which is already in progress. The subscriber can answer,

reject, or ignore the incoming call. This service is applicable in all GSM connections.

7. Multiparty service-The multiparty service or conference enables a mobile subscriber

to establish a conversation of callers, that is, a simultaneous conversation between

three and six subscribers.

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8. Calling line identification- This allows the called subscriber with the integrated

services digital network (ISDN) which presents the number of the calling party. It is

an optional feature and you can deactivate your calling line process.

MOBILE POSITIONING

It is now not necessary to use localization or tracking any longer. Since all

phones have been converted to GPS able, the receiving tower can just ask the phone

where it's position is, and the return contact will tell it within 16 feet. No localization is

required any longer, since all phones now are required to have built in GPS abilities. This

helps the computer to track which direction one is traveling so it can be determined when

to best switch contact to the next tower. This improves service and reception and even

makes it possible to use a phone at high speeds of travel.

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GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is the only fully functional Global

Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The GPS uses a constellation of between 24 and 32

Medium Earth Orbit satellites that transmit precise microwave signals, which enable GPS

receivers to determine their current location, the time, and their velocity (including

direction). GPS was developed by the United States Department of Defense.

Global Positioning System (GPS) is comprised of 24 U.S. government

owned satellites that circle 12,000 miles above the earth, twice a day in precise orbits, so

that several are always in view from any position. The system is designed to provide

worldwide positioning services with an accuracy ranging from 10 to 15 meters. Instant

location information enables users to ascertain exactly where their vehicles or assets are

at anytime, anywhere in the world. Due to minor timing errors and satellite orbit errors,

however, more precise accuracies are unattainable with standard GPS. Atmospheric

conditions can also affect GPS signals and their arrival time on Earth.

Basic concept of GPS operation

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A GPS receiver calculates its position by carefully timing the signals sent

by the constellation of GPS satellites high above the Earth. Each satellite continually

transmits messages containing the time the message was sent, a precise orbit for the

satellite sending the message (the ephemeris), and the general system health and rough

orbits of all GPS satellites (the almanac). These signals travel at the speed of light (which

varies between vacuum and the atmosphere). The receiver uses the arrival time of each

message to measure the distance to each satellite, from which it determines the position

of the receiver. The resulting coordinates are converted to more user-friendly forms such

as latitude and longitude, or location on a map, and then displayed to the user.

It might seem that three satellites would be enough to solve for a position,

since space has three dimensions. However, a three satellite solution requires the time be

known to a nanosecond or so, far better than any non-laboratory clock can provide. Using

four or more satellites allows the receiver to solve for time as well as geographical

position, eliminating the need for a very accurate clock.

Position calculation

Using messages received from a minimum of four visible satellites, a GPS

receiver is able to determine the satellite positions and time sent. The x, y, and z

components of position and the time sent are designated as where the subscript i denotes

the satellite number and has the value 1, 2, 3, or 4. Knowing the indicated time the

message was received, the GPS receiver can compute the indicated transit time of the

message. Assuming the message traveled at the speed of light, the distance traveled, can

be computed. Knowing the distance from GPS receiver to a satellite and the position of a
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satellite implies that the GPS receiver is on the surface of a sphere centered at the

position of a satellite. Thus we know that the indicated position of the GPS receiver is at

or near the intersection of the surfaces of four spheres. In the ideal case of no errors, the

GPS receiver will be at an intersection of the surfaces of four spheres. The surfaces of

two spheres if they intersect in more than one point intersect in a circle. A figure, two

sphere surfaces intersecting in a circle, is shown below. Two points at which the surfaces

of the spheres intersect are clearly shown in the figure. The distance between these two

points is the diameter of the circle of intersection. Now consider how a side view of the

intersecting spheres would look. This view would look exactly the same as the figure

because of the symmetry of the spheres. And in fact a view from any horizontal direction

would look exactly the same. This should make it clear to the reader that the surfaces of

the two spheres actually do intersect in a circle.

Two sphere surfaces intersecting in a circle

2-D Trilateration

The concept of trilateration is easy to understand through an example.

Imagine that you are driving through an unfamiliar country and that you are lost. A road

sign indicates that you are 500 km from city A. But this is not of much help, as you could

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be anywhere in a circle of 500 km radius from the city A. A person you stop by to ask for

directions then volunteers that you are 450 km from city B. Now you are in a better

position to locate yourself- you are at one of the two intersecting points of the two circles

surrounding city A and city B. Now if you could also get your distance from another

place say city C, you can locate yourself very precisely, as these three circles can intersect

each other at just one point. This is the principle behind 2D trilateration.

3-D Trilateration

The fundamental principles are the same for 2D and 3D trilateration, but in

3D trilateration we are dealing with spheres instead of circles. It is a little tricky to

visualize. Here, we have to imagine the radii from the previous example going in all

directions that is in three dimensional space thus forming spheres around the predefined

points. Therefore the location of an object has to be defined with reference to the

intersecting point of three spheres.

Thus if you learn that the object is at a distance of 100 km from satellite A,

it simply says that the object could be on surface of a huge imaginary sphere of 100 km

radius around satellite A. Now you are also informed that the object is 150 km from

satellite B. The imaginary spheres of 100km and 150 km around satellites A and B

respectively intersect in a perfect circle. The position of the object defined from a third

satellite C intersects this circle at just two points. The Earth acts as the fourth sphere,

making us able to eliminate one of the two intersection points of the first three spheres.

This makes it possible to identify the exact location of the object.

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However GPS receivers take into account four or more satellites to

improve accuracy and provide extra information like altitude of the object.

Thus the GPS receiver needs the following information for its calculations.

• The location of a minimum of three satellites that lock in with the object to be located

or tracked.

• The distance between the object and each of these satellites.

The GPS receiver works this out by analyzing high-frequency radio signals from GPS

satellites. The more sophisticated the GPS, the more its number of receivers, so that

signals from a larger number of satellites are taken into account for the calculations.

GPS signal

There are two frequencies of low power radio signals that GPS satellites

transmit. These are called L1 and L2. The L1 frequency at 1575.42 MHz in the UHF

band is what comes into play for civilian applications. These signals can pass through

clouds, glass, plastic and such light objects, but cannot go through more solid objects like

buildings and mountains.

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Every GPS signal packs three bits of information- these are the

pseudorandom code, ephemeris data and almanac data. The pseudorandom code is the

identification code of the individual satellite. The ephemeris data identifies the location of

each GPS satellite at any particular time of the day. Each satellite transmits this data for

the GPS receivers as well as for the other satellites in the network. The almanac data has

information about the status of the satellite as well as current date and time. The almanac

part of the signal is essential for determining the position.

System segmentation

The current GPS consists of three major segments. These are the space segment (SS), a

control segment (CS), and a user segment (US).

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 Space segment

A visual example of the GPS constellation in motion with the Earth rotating is shown.

Notice how the number of satellites in view from a given point on the Earth's surface, in

this example at 45°N, changes with time.

The space segment (SS) comprises the orbiting GPS satellites or Space

Vehicles (SV) in GPS parlance. The GPS design originally called for 24 SVs, eight each

in three circular orbital planes, but this was modified to six planes with four satellites

each. The orbital planes are centered on the Earth, not rotating with respect to the distant

stars. The six planes have approximately 55° inclination (tilt relative to Earth's equator)

and are separated by 60° right ascension of the ascending node (angle along the equator

from a reference point to the orbit's intersection). The orbits are arranged so that at least

six satellites are always within line of sight from almost everywhere on Earth's surface.

Orbiting at an altitude of approximately 20,200 kilometers (12,600 miles or 10,900

nautical miles; orbital radius of 26,600 km (16,500 mi or 14,400 NM)), each SV makes

two complete orbits each sidereal day. The ground track of each satellite therefore repeats

each (sidereal) day. This was very helpful during development, since even with just four

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o satellites, correct alignment means all four are visible from one spot for a few

hours each day. For military operations, the ground track repeat can be used to

ensure good coverage in combat zones.

As of March 2008, there are 31 actively broadcasting satellites in the GPS

constellation. The additional satellites improve the precision of GPS receiver calculations

by providing redundant measurements. With the increased number of satellites, the

constellation was changed to a nonuniform arrangement. Such an arrangement was

shown to improve reliability and availability of the system, relative to a uniform system,

when multiple satellites fail.

 Control segment

The control segment of the Global Positioning System is a network of

ground stations that monitors the shape and velocity of the satellites' orbits. The accuracy

of GPS data depends on knowing the positions of the satellites at all times. The orbits of

the satellites are sometimes disturbed by the interplay of the gravitational forces of the

Earth and Moon. The control segment updates the atomic clock and adjusts the

ephemeris.

Correcting GPS clock

The method of calculating position for the case of no errors has been

explained. One of the most important errors is the error in the GPS receiver clock.

Because of the very large value of the speed of light, the estimated distances from the

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GPS receiver to the satellites, the pseudo ranges, are very sensitive to errors in the GPS

receiver clock. This seems to suggest that an extremely accurate and expensive clock is

required for the GPS receiver to work. On the other hand, manufacturers would like to

make an inexpensive GPS receiver which can be mass marketed. The manufacturers were

thus faced with a difficult design problem. The technique that solves this problem is

based on the way sphere surfaces intersect in the GPS problem.

It is likely the surfaces of the three spheres intersect since the circle of

intersection of the first two spheres is normally quite large and thus the third sphere

surface is likely to intersect this large circle. It is very unlikely that the surface of the

sphere corresponding to the fourth satellite will intersect either of the two points of

intersection of the first three since any clock error could cause it to miss intersecting a

point. However the distance from the valid estimate of GPS receiver position to the

surface of the sphere corresponding to the fourth satellite can be used to compute a clock

correction. Note the distance from the valid estimate of GPS receiver position to the

fourth satellite and denote the pseudo range of the fourth satellite. This is the distance

from the computed GPS receiver position to the surface of the sphere corresponding to

the fourth satellite. Thus the quotient provides an estimate of correct time (time indicated

by the receiver's on-board clock), and the GPS receiver clock can be advanced if is

positive or delayed if is negative.

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Adjusting the ephemeris

Satellite maneuvers are not precise by GPS standards. So to change the

orbit of a satellite, the satellite must be marked 'unhealthy', so receivers will not use it in

their calculation. Then the maneuver can be carried out, and the resulting orbit tracked

from the ground. Then the new ephemeris is uploaded and the satellite marked healthy

again.

 User segment

This component consists of the GPS receivers and the user community. GPS

receivers convert the signal into position, velocity and time estimates. This process

requires four satellites to compute the four dimension of X, Y, Z (position) and time.

With this ability, GPS has three main functions; navigation (for aircraft, ships, etc),

precise positioning (for surveying, plate tectonics, etc,) and time and frequency

dissemination (for astronomical observatories, telecommunications facilities, etc.) The

user requires a GPS receiver in order to receive the transmissions from the satellites. The

GPS receiver calculates the location based on signals from the satellites. The user does

not transmit anything to the satellites and therefore the satellites don't know the user is

there. The only data the satellites receive is from the Master Control Station in Colorado.

The users consist of both the military and civilians.

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Error sources in GPS

Apart from the inaccuracy of the clock in the GPS receiver, there can be other

factors that affect the quality of the GPS signal and cause calculation errors. These are:

 Ionosphere and troposphere disturbances: These cause the satellite signal to slow down

as it passes through the atmosphere. However the GPS system has a built in model that

accounts for an average amount of these disturbances.

 Signal reflection: Here the signal hits and is reflected off objects like tall buildings, rocks

etc. This causes the signal to be delayed before it reaches the receiver.

 Ephemeris errors: Ephemeris errors are also known as orbital errors. These are errors in

the satellite’s reported position against its actual position.

 Clock errors: The built in clock of the GPS receiver is not as accurate as the atomic

clocks of the satellites and the slight timing errors leads to corresponding errors in

calculations.

 Visibility of Satellites: The more the number of satellites a GPS receiver can lock with,

the better its accuracy. Buildings, rocks and mountains, dense foliage, electronic

interference, in short everything that comes in the line of sight cause position errors and

sometimes make it unable to take any reading at all. GPS receivers do not work indoors,

underwater and underground.

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 Satellite Shading: For the signals to work properly the satellites have to be placed at wide

angles from each other. Poor geometry resulting from tight grouping can result in signal

interference.

 Intentional degradation: This was used till May 2000 by the US Department of Defense

so that military adversaries could not use the GPS signals. This has been turned off since

May 2000, which has improved the accuracy of readings in civilian equipment.

The position calculated by a GPS receiver requires the current time,

the position of the satellite and the measured delay of the received signal. The position

accuracy is primarily dependent on the satellite position and signal delay. To measure the

delay, the receiver compares the bit sequence received from the satellite with an

internally generated version.

Atmospheric effects

Inconsistencies of atmospheric conditions affect the speed of the GPS

signals as they pass through the Earth's atmosphere, especially the ionosphere. Correcting

these errors is a significant challenge to improving GPS position accuracy. These effects

are smallest when the satellite is directly overhead and become greater for satellites

nearer the horizon since the path through the atmosphere is longer. Once the receiver's

approximate location is known, a mathematical model can be used to estimate and

compensate for these errors.

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Due to the ionospheric delay affects the speed of microwave signals

differently depending on their frequency — a characteristic known as dispersion - delays

measured on two or more frequency bands can be used to measure dispersion, and this

measurement can then be used to estimate the delay at each frequency. Some military and

expensive survey-grade civilian receivers measure the different delays in the L1 and L2

frequencies to measure atmospheric dispersion, and apply a more precise correction. This

can be done in civilian receivers without decrypting the P(Y) signal carried on L2, by

tracking the carrier wave instead of the modulated code. To facilitate this on lower cost

receivers, a new civilian code signal on L2, called L2C, was added to the Block IIR-M

satellites, which was first launched in 2005. It allows a direct comparison of the L1 and

L2 signals using the coded signal instead of the carrier wave.

The effects of the ionosphere generally change slowly, and can be averaged

over time. The effects for any particular geographical area can be easily calculated by

comparing the GPS-measured position to a known surveyed location. This correction is

also valid for other receivers in the same general location. Several systems send this

information over radio or other links to allow L1-only receivers to make ionospheric

corrections. The ionospheric data are transmitted via satellite in Satellite Based

Augmentation Systems such as WAAS, which transmits it on the GPS frequency using a

special pseudo-random noise sequence (PRN), so only one receiver and antenna are

required.

Humidity also causes a variable delay, resulting in errors similar to

ionospheric delay, but occurring in the troposphere. This effect both is more localized and

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changes more quickly than ionospheric effects, and is not frequency dependent. These

traits make precise measurement and compensation of humidity errors more difficult than

ionospheric effects.

Changes in receiver altitude also change the amount of delay, due to the

signal passing through less of the atmosphere at higher elevations. Since the GPS receiver

computes its approximate altitude, this error is relatively simple to correct, either by

applying a function regression or correlating margin of atmospheric error to ambient

pressure using a barometric altimeter.

Propagation of radio waves through atmosphere

Ephemeris and clock errors

While the ephemeris data is transmitted every 30 seconds, the information

itself may be up to two hours old. Data up to four hours old is considered valid for

calculating positions, but may not indicate the satellites actual position. If a fast TTFF is

needed, it is possible to upload valid ephemeris to a receiver, and in addition to setting

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the time, a position fix can be obtained in under ten seconds. It is feasible to put such

ephemeris data on the web so it can be loaded into mobile GPS devices.

The satellite's atomic clocks experience noise and clock drift errors. The

navigation message contains corrections for these errors and estimates of the accuracy of

the atomic clock. However, they are based on observations and may not indicate the

clock's current state. These problems tend to be very small, but may add up to a few

meters (10s of feet) of inaccuracy.

Multipath Effects

The multipath effect is caused by reflection of satellite signals (radio

waves) on objects. It was the same effect that caused ghost images on television when

antennae on the roof were still more common instead of today’s satellite dishes.

For GPS signals this effect mainly appears in the neighbourhood of large

buildings or other elevations. The reflected signal takes more time to reach the receiver

than the direct signal. The resulting error typically lies in the range of a few meters.

Interference caused by reflection of signals

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Relativistic Effects

The theory of relativity also says that time moves the slower the stronger

the field of gravitation is. For an observer on the earth surface the clock on board of a

satellite is running faster (as the satellite in 20000 km height is exposed to a much weaker

field of gravitation than the observer). And this second effect is six times stronger than

the time dilation explained above.

Altogether, the clocks of the satellites seem to run a little faster. The shift

of time to the observer on earth would be about 38 milliseconds per day and would make

up for a total error of approximately 10 km per day. In order that those errors do not have

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to be corrected constantly, the clocks of the satellites were set to 10.229999995453 MHz

instead of 10.23 MHz but they are operated as if they had 10.23 MHz. By this trick the

relativistic effects are compensated once and for all.

There is another relativistic effect, which is not considered for normal

position determinations by GPS. It is called Sagnac-Effect and is caused by the

movement of the observer on the earth surface, who also moves with a velocity of up to

500 m/s (at the equator) due to the rotation of the globe. The influence of this effect is

very small and complicate to calculate as it depends on the directions of the movement.

Therefore it is only considered in special cases.

The errors of the GPS system are summarized in the following table. The individual

values are no constant values, but are subject to variances. All numbers are approximate

values.

Ionospheric effects ± 5 meter

Shifts in the satellite orbits ± 2.5

meter
Clock errors of the satellites' clocks ± 2 meter
Multipath effect ± 1 meter
Tropospheric effects ± 0.5

meter
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rounding errors ± 1 meter
Tracking and Positioning of Mobiles in Telecommunication

Interference

• Natural sources

Since GPS signals at terrestrial receivers tend to be relatively weak, it is easy for

other sources of electromagnetic radiation to desensitize the receiver, making acquiring

and tracking the satellite signals difficult or impossible.

Solar flares are one such naturally occurring emission with the potential to

degrade GPS reception, and their impact can affect reception over the half of the Earth

facing the sun. GPS signals can also be interfered with by naturally occurring

geomagnetic storms, predominantly found near the poles of the Earth's magnetic field.

• Artificial sources

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In automotive GPS receivers, metallic features in windshields, such as defrosters,

or car window tinting films can act as a Faraday cage, degrading reception just inside the

car.

Man-made EMI (electromagnetic interference) can also disrupt, or jam, GPS

signals. In one well documented case, an entire harbor was unable to receive GPS signals

due to unintentional jamming caused by a malfunctioning TV antenna preamplifier.

Intentional jamming is also possible. Generally, stronger signals can interfere with GPS

receivers when they are within radio range, or line of sight.

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Accuracy enhancement

GPS accuracy is affected by a number of factors, including satellite

positions, noise in the radio signal, atmospheric conditions, and natural barriers to the

signal. Noise can create an error between 1 to 10 meters and results from static or

interference from something near the receiver or something on the same frequency.

Clouds and other atmospheric phenomena, and objects such a mountains or buildings

between the satellite and the receiver can also produce error, sometimes up to 30 meters.

The most accurate determination of position occurs when the satellite and receiver have a

clear view of each other and no other objects interfere.

Obviously, mountains and clouds can not be controlled or moved, nor can interference

and blockage from buildings always be prevented. These factors then, will affect GPS

accuracy. To overcome or get around these factors, other technology, AGPS, DGPS, and

WAAS, has been developed to aid in determining an accurate location.

Augmentation

Augmentation methods of improving accuracy rely on external

information being integrated into the calculation process. There are many such systems in

place and they are generally named or described based on how the GPS sensor receives

the information. Some systems transmit additional information about sources of error

(such as clock drift, ephemeris, or ionospheric delay), others provide direct measurements

of how much the signal was off in the past, while a third group provide additional

navigational or vehicle information to be integrated in the calculation.

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Precise monitoring

The accuracy of a calculation can also be improved through precise

monitoring and measuring of the existing GPS signals in additional or alternate ways.

The largest error in GPS is usually the unpredictable delay through the

ionosphere. The spacecraft broadcast ionospheric model parameters, but errors remain.

This is one reason the GPS spacecraft transmit on at least two frequencies, L1 and L2.

Ionospheric delay is a well-defined function of frequency and the total electron content

(TEC) along the path, so measuring the arrival time difference between the frequencies

determines TEC and thus the precise ionospheric delay at each frequency process.

GPS services in mobile phones

For nearly a decade ago technology visionaries were talking about a

technology that people can use in their cell phones to get direction, track their friends,

keep an eye on any special object, kids tracking or simply find the nearest hotel or

hospital. Now finally those kinds of services are finally starting with the help of Global

Positioning System (GPS) that makes our life simpler and smother.

Besides the so-called social networking service that involves talking in

phone or mobiles to simply typing a message people can now easily use their mobile

phone in location-based service. So GPS really plays an important role in directing the

use of mobile phone a new dimension.

GPS enables users to type a location and broadcast it to their friends and

even the mobile virtual network automatically tracks and alert people about their

location. Another service like Geocaching let mobile phone users to participate in a

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treasure haunt game that guides them to a particular place in search of a cache, whose

coordinates are saved on the mobile GPS unit.

Mobile GPS unit identifies user’s position information with details including latitude,

longitude with maximum accuracy up to 15 meters in radius. GPS technology is

measuring the exact position of the mobile user more accurately by calculating user's

coordinates with the help of satellite signals.

Subscriber location service – This requires the user to type their address and ZIP

code to broadcast their location or to find local business points. If someone is driving in a

foreign area and want to find out the closest restaurant or Movie Theater you might not

know the ZIP code of the place and hence several manufacturers are now working closely

with leading mobile operators in providing technologies that can track location in case of

emergency.

The mobile tracking service in cell phone allows the user to share their real-time location

status, messages, photos and other information with their friends from a mobile phone.

The GPS enable mobile phone can automatically updates and displays the location of

users directly on a map on the phone. Also the user can get an alert when any of his/her

friends comes nearer.

Safety, Security & Privacy - With the growing demand of mobile services the

safety and user’s privacy issues holds a huge importance for both operators and users. But

with new kinds of technological innovation the issues does not stand firm. Privacy and

security are two of most concerned factor as far as establishing mobility through mobile

is concerned. The technology also safeguards user’s privacy by allowing merely the

known people to track and only when they want to be found.

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For example, if a subscriber wants to track a phone then the phone number must

be used or a text message must be sent to the owner of that phone, who must reply in

order to enable tracking. Beside, individual privacy setting allows users to hide him to

any particular person.

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Applications

The applications of the Global Positioning System fall into five categories:

location, navigation, timing, mapping, and tracking. Each category contains uses for the

military, industry, transportation, recreation and science.

Location

This category is for position determination and is the most obvious use of the

Global Positioning System. GPS is the first system that can give accurate and precise

measurements anytime, anywhere and under any weather conditions. Some examples of

applications within this category are:

1. Measuring the movement of volcanoes and glaciers.

2. Measuring the growth of mountains.

3. Measuring the location of icebergs - this is very valuable to ship captains helping

them to avoid possible disasters.

4. Storing the location of where you were - most GPS receivers on the market will allow

you to record a certain location. This allows you to find it again with minimal effort

and would prove useful in a hard to navigate place such as a dense forest.

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Navigation

Navigation is the process of getting from one location to another. This was

what the Global Positioning System was designed for. The GPS system allows us to

navigate on water, air, or land. It allows planes to land in the middle of mountains and

helps medical evacuation helicopters save precious time by taking the best route.

Timing

GPS brings precise timing. Each satellite is equipped with an extremely

precise atomic clock. This is why we can all synchronize our watches so well and make

sure international events are actually happening at the same time.

Mapping

This is used for creating maps by recording a series of locations. The best

example is surveying where the DGPS technique is applied but with a twist. Instead of

making error corrections in real time, both the stationary and moving receivers calculate

their positions using the satellite signals. When the roving receiver is through making

measurements, it then takes them back to the ground station which has already calculated

the errors for each moment in time. At this time, the accurate measurements are obtained.

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Tracking

The applications in this category are ways of monitoring people and things

such as packages. This has been used along with wireless communications to keep track

of some criminals. The suspect agrees to keep a GPS receiver and transmitting device

with him at all times. If he goes where he's not allowed to, the authorities will be notified.

This can also be used to track animals.

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CONCLUSION

Mobile positioning technology has become an important area of research,

for emergency as well as for commercial services. Mobile positioning in cellular

networks will provide several services such as, locating stolen mobiles, emergency calls,

different billing tariffs depending on where the call is originated, and methods to predict

the user movement inside a region.

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REFERENCES

• Steven R. Strom. "Charting a Course toward Global Navigation”. The Aerospace

Corporation. Retrieved on 2008-06-27.

• en.wikipedia.org

• www.landairsea.com

• www.roseindia.net

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