SnapTrack,Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of QUALCOMM Incorporated and Telecommunication Systems, Inc.has announced an agreement to provide Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) carriers with a service-bureau style wireless location server platform, or Position Determining Entity (PDE), that can be shared by multiple carriers deploying E911 public safety systems and commercial services based on QUALCOMM’s SnapTrack-enhanced GPS One(TM) high-precision wireless location system.
This carrier-class PDE platform combines SnapTrack’s SnapSmart(TM) location server software with TCS’ world-class Xypoint Location Platform, and can simultaneously fulfill the PDE and Mobile Positioning Centre (MPC) needs of multiple wireless operators. This platform provides carriers with an alternative to purchasing their own PDE and MPC systems to meet the Federal Communication Commission’s E911 mandate, and will also support carriers choosing to launch new value-added, location-based services such as friend finder, personal direction finding, mobile yellow pages, and child safety services. TCS has confirmed its first two customers to use the hosted service, with deployment planned by the end of 2002.
This new service builds on the existing partnership between SnapTrack and TCS, which was announced last fall. The two companies, at that time, confirmed the commercial availability of the Wide Area Reference Network (SnapWARN(TM)) GPS system data feed, which provides PDEs such as SnapTrack’s SnapSmart PDE software with a continuous stream of GPS satellite reference information to be used in gpsOne location calculations.
The carrier-class platform is scalable based upon the needs of the carriers simultaneously sharing the resources provided by the platform, and will incorporate multiple PDE hosting sites to ensure redundancy and high availability. The new shared PDE system is based on TCS’ successful Xypoint Location Platform, and integrates SnapTrack’s SnapSmart location server software to support gpsOne-based CDMA handsets based on QUALCOMM’s position-enabled MSM(TM) series CDMA modem chipsets. The SnapSmart location server software solution combines Assisted GPS and wireless CDMA network information to provide industry leading position location performance. It rapidly produces highly accurate three-dimensional position fixes by combining terrestrial and satellite positioning information and by reducing the errors introduced by atmospheric disturbances and multi-path effects. These resulting error maps minimize measurement errors within the system and increase yields of successful position determination to nearly 100 percent. In CDMA systems, a position can be determined nearly anywhere a call can be placed even inside buildings and in urban street canyons.
