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In the UK: Tracking technology created by Path Technologies is being used to watch how shoppers mobe around shopping malls, according to The Register.
By installing their receivers in the shopping centre, Path are able to pick up comms between handsets and base stations, enabling location-fix to within a couple of metres. There are apparently two UK shopping centres using the tech, with three more to come soon!
The point of the tech, as aforementioned, is to find out more about the rituals of shoppers – something that has only previously been possible with fairly manual surveying methods. As most of the GSM comms are encrypted, and the network uses a TMSI (Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity) rather than sending the IMSI, it is said to be anonymous. Path Intelligence is also keen to state all their tracking is anonymised, and that they can’t establish who you really are…
Security concerns aside for a moment, the tech does have a lot of interesting applications – whether it is shopping, traffic, or trade shows.
For the moment Path Intelligence only does 2G GSM, though supporting CDMA wouldn’t be too difficult. 3G GSM is slightly more secure but still uses a TMSI, so those on a 3G network are unlikely to remain untracked for long.
Whether shoppers will (a) know and (b) be happy with being tracked remains to be seen – I guess whether you need to inform them they are being monitored might be a legal grey area – however, as The Register neatly points out, if you match CCTV footage to location info, then you would potentially have a good set of data about people – just like they do on 24! 
[Via: The Register]
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
