Combining its solution for locating cell phone callers with a new database it has developed to further leverage its call location capability, TruePosition, Inc., has introduced a Location Intelligence (LOCINT) solution for the public safety and security markets.
Founded in 1993, Pennsylvania-based TruePosition developed a network-based location technology known as Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (U-TDOA) that is deployed nationwide by cellular network providers AT&T Corp. [T] and T-Mobile to be able to locate cell phone callers under the Federal Communications Commission’s E911 mandate. TruePosition also sells its wireless call locating solution to rural carriers as well.
With the success of the TruePosition Locator Platform, the company began receiving interest from governments worldwide on how the technology could be leveraged for national security. That led to the development of the Location Intelligence Management System (LIMS), which collects, stores and displays real-time and historical wireless events and the location of targeted mobile users.
The LOCINT solution marries the Locator Platform, which in addition to U-TDOA, now includes other location techniques, with LIMS, Brian Varano, TruePostion’s director of marketing, tells TR2. The solution has three main functions, he says, which are location intelligence, location tracking and geo-fencing.
The location intelligence function takes advantage of the LIMS to “sort out” network events, not just calls and text messages sent and received, but whether the phone has been turned on, whether the SIM card has been switched to a different phone, whether the phone has been switched to a different network, Varano says.
Location tracking is knowing where mobile phones of interest are, Varano says. In addition to knowing location, the direction and velocity of a phone can be tracked as well, which can tell authorities if someone is in a vehicle or on foot.
The geo-fencing capability takes advantage of the radio frequency energy being emitted in a wireless network, allowing users to create an “invisible electronic fence” around a facility, a border or some critical infrastructure. Of a mobile phone of interest crosses that invisible perimeter a real-time alert can be triggered and that phone, as long as it is turned on, can be tracked, Varano says.
Geo-fencing can also be used to contain an area to see if someone’s phone has left that area, says Mike Amarosa, TruePosition’s senior vice president for Public Affairs.
TruePosition has identified three market categories for its LOCINT solution: border security; critical infrastructure protection; and law enforcement. To get traction in these areas the company is going straight to potential government customers, Varano says. For the E911 market TruePosition works directly with the mobile network operators, he says.
Company officials says that LOCINT has a role to play both in thwarting attacks involving improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and tracking down the culprits behind bomb attacks. Detection can be done on the front end by knowing if a mobile phone has not moved in a particular area, such as next to a government building or embassy, in an inordinate amount of time, triggering a security procedure to check out the situation, Varano says.
If an IED goes off, then law enforcement agencies equipped with the LOCINT solution can backtrack from the event by determining what phone was strapped to the bomb and who either called or sent a text message to that phone to trigger the device. The technology can also be used to ascertain who the person using the phone that triggered the bomb called before and after the incident and where everyone is located, Varano says.
The ability to do historical research on an event enables users of the technology to connect the dots in an investigation by picking up detailed information on a particular cell phone, Amarosa says.
The initial target markets for the LOCINT solution are foreign governments, particularly in the Middle East, parts of the Asia/Pacific region and Latin America. In the Middle East there is interest in protecting critical infrastructure such as chemical plants and energy facilities. These customers would put a geo-fence beyond where their physical fencing is, Varano says. In Latin America interest in the technology is being driven in part due to kidnappings to help law enforcement agencies track down kidnappers and their victims.
So far TruePosition is involved in pilot projects with customers of LOCINT. The customers can’t be named for now, the officials say.
While the U.S. military is a potential customer for overseas applications where IEDs are a threat, the U.S. government isn’t currently a target market for domestic use, TruePosition says.
That’s because some foreign governments don’t have the legal restrictions preventing open surveillance as is the case in the U.S. and because some foreign governments have more leverage over mobile network operators in their countries to get them to install the necessary hardware and software to allow the tracking, the company officials say.
There is also interest in Europe for the emergency call location technology as the European Union progresses with plans similar to the E911 system in the U.S., they say.
The location detection technology that exists as part of the E911 system is the size of a pizza box and is installed in the various base stations belonging to the mobile network operators. The LIMS software has to be purchased by the particular users in an area to be able to do all surveillance and intelligence gathering that the LOCINT solution offers.