Location services using cellular digital packet data

This paper presents how a standard mobile data technology, cellular digital packet data (CDPD) can be used to provide a location service. The location service considered is a means of locating mobiles as and when they move (on land) from one point to another. This kind of service is very useful in applications such as fleet management for road transport, emergency services and dynamic route guidance. The location service provided as a part of the CDPD standards enable mobiles to be located with an accuracy of a cell size which is of the order of a few kilometers. The paper also presents an alternative approach for providing a location service by integrating the CDPD data service with a standard positioning system, such as GPS, for locating mobiles with a precision of about 100 meters.