Telcos miss deadline for detection of accurate user location
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Telecom companies have missed the May-end deadline to comply with regulatory norms on detection of accurate user location and cited huge cost and technology unavailability as reasons for not meeting the target.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) had amended licence conditions of telecom service providers and asked them to provide location details of users as part of call data records.
According to the target set by DoT, law enforcement agencies should be able to track 30 per cent mobile users in urban areas within 50 metres of the location pointed out by by the telecom operator.
Operators were also mandated to provide location details of 50 per cent of subscribers within 300 metres in semi-urban and rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and other north eastern states.
"LBS (Location Based Service) as specified by DoT is extremely complex and costly proposition. We have made several representation to DoT and the government submitting that the accuracy levels as demanded by them is not possible," GSM industry body COAI's Director General Rajan Mathews told PTI.
"Service providers have made efforts and even after detailed discussions and interaction with various vendors providing such services... have not found any vendor, who is ready to commit the phase-wise implementation of LBS as enunciated by DoT," S C Khanna, Secretary General, of AUSPI Representative body of dual technology and CDMA operators.
Mathews said the technology will cost to the tune of USD 2-3 billion and industry wants the cost should be borne by the government as it is for the national security purpose.
"It is a massive cost. Our member service providers will facilitate deployment of equipment but they cannot incur those cost which should be borne by the Government in the interest of national security," Mathews said.
A DoT official, however, said that vendors have quoted around $1 per user for the technology that needs to be deployed.
Mathews also said the department should first test the technology of vendors and there should be consensus between law enforcement agencies, DoT and the industry before its deployment.
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