No Worries about Getting Lost Just by Carrying a Cellular Phone

`Use a cellular phone to find where a person is.`

Presaging another revolutionary innovation, a precise positioning service for cellular phones has become available, which can find the location of a person who carries a cellular phone in a 30 m are.

If one carries a cellular phone, he or she can find a child or an elderly person who got lost, and find out how to get to their location even in an unfamiliar place. The positioning service so far has some errors in km, but the phone with built-in Global Positioning System (GPS) chip enables more precise service.

▽ Fervent service competition = As precise positioning service by cellular phone emerged in the `golden market`, mobile phone carriers are in fierce competition.

KTF, a mobile phone carrier, whose number starts with 016 and 018, introduced the `angel eye` service, which detects the user`s location adapting GPS satellite from this month. It is the 3rd GPS service by a cellular phone service company in the world after U.S. Sprint PCS and Japanese KDDI. They are concentrating on special markets like positioning a child or an elderly person of senile dementia, security companies, distributing companies, or insurance companies.

SK Telecom plans to introduce a similar service named Mobil Security Service (LBS) in the first half of this year. It will provide location and transport information, neighborhood area events and facilities information after it precisely discovers the customers` locations. And it is preparing a `Mobile Security Service` that mobilizes security guards if a customer presses the emergency button in case of being assaulted by a stalker or suffers violence in school. SK Telecom cooperates with security company S1 for the service.

▽ How to use = The service uses a diminutive GPS chip, which exchanges information with GPS satellite, so that the cellular phone can find out the user`s location. The terminal for Angel Eye service of KTF uses U.S. Qualcomm`s Code Division Multiplex Access (CDMA) chip (MSM3300) which synchronized GPS functions.

The device with built-in GPS chip is required for GPS service by cellular phone. The device for Angel Eye service is available at around 200,000 won, and monthly basic fee for the service is 17,000 won with call rates of 18 won per 10 seconds. Message service for 100 times and data communication for 30 minutes are provided without charge. Primary service calls up two phone numbers registered for protecting a child or an aged person with senile dementia.

With SK Telecom`s `Nate Driver`, which is under exhibition operation, drivers can be provided with guiding service while driving. The price of Vehicle Mounted Terminal (VTM) with exclusive terminal or GPS chip is around 400,000 won or 300,000 won.

Tae-Han Kim freewill@donga.com