CPS Announces Cursor 3G

date: October 17, 2001

Cambridge Positioning Systems announced today that the company has developed its E-OTD technology for 3G networks, and is demonstrating good results from laboratory trials. The advent of 3G is expected to herald a world of mobile multimedia, with the universal introduction of location-based services and other value added broadband services. The CPS technology, called Cursor 3G, is the simplest high-accuracy location technology available for 3G, and it promises an accuracy of 10-20 m, comparable with satellite-based GPS.

Accurately defining the location of customers on the network is more difficult on 3G networks than in GSM. Within the current 3GPP standards, the E-OTD equivalent (known as Observed Time Difference of Arrival, OTDOA) is recognised as suffering from the issue of 'hearability', in which distant signals tend to be drowned out by nearby ones. The signals from at least three transmitter sites are needed for each position fix, but 'hearability' often gets in the way. The Standard recognises a way of solving this problem by using an Idle Period on the Down Link (IP-DL), a way of momentarily turning off each network transmitter in turn to allow a mobile handset to generate enough location measurements to determine precise location. Turning off transmitters in turn needs coordination in the network, adds complexity to the handset, and leads to a reduction in network capacity. It is unpopular with network vendors, handset manufacturers, and network operators alike.

Through an enhancement to the OTDOA positioning within its GSM Cursor technology, CPS' 3G solution removes the need for IP-DL. It can be quickly and cheaply integrated into all networks and adds no cost to the handset as the only change is a small and straightforward software addition. E-OTD has already demonstrated its accuracy on GSM networks in dense urban areas, making it attractive for 3G operators who are seeking low-cost and simple high-accuracy solutions.

"We have proved our 3G solution through extensive laboratory trials and we are now demonstrating the technology to operators and network equipment vendors," said Peter Duffett-Smith, CTO, Cambridge Positioning Systems. "We have overcome the hearability concerns of 3G operators and are set to lead E-OTD deployment in UMTS networks. Additionally, we are seeing E-OTD results with ever greater degrees of accuracy, with good indications that 15m is achievable with our new Cursor 3G solution."

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