The Government is planning to give value added service providers access to information related to the location of a mobile phone. If approved, it will enable the ability to locate lost mobile phones and track people anywhere in the country without the need of a GPS system, users will just have to type the mobile number in a web application for access of the information.
For now, the location of a mobile phone can be traced by public only if the handset is GPS enabled and the location-based information of non-GPS enabled mobile phones can be only accessed by security agencies using mobile phone towers. Privacy issues and security concerns have put the Government in a dilemma as to how much information related to location of a mobile phone can be given out to the public.
“Location based services (LBS) is going to be part of content enablement under NTP. It is important for VAS and everybody knows that VAS is going to be name of the game. We are vetting it to decide how much of it can be opened for public, “said Mr. R Chandrashekhar, secretary, Department of Telecommunications.