Snaptrack seems to be a strategic acquisition, and has some exciting technology.
I presume that this will be another royalty/revenue stream for Q. Long-term this looks like a tremendous strategic move by Q.
From their web site.
How does SnapTrack technology differ from conventional GPS?
SnapTrack developed a breakthrough architecture that tightly integrates GPS receiving capability in a wireless handset with a cell-based wireless network. The handset processes the GPS signal in software rather than using conventional hardware correlators. SnapTrack-enhanced GPS offers several distinct advantages:
- Higher dependability. Due to a patented method of building an ultra-high high-sensitivity GPS receiver, the SnapTrack system can operate virtually everywhere wireless handsets are used, including inside buildings, urban canyons, and in other environments where satellite signals are significantly attenuated. This has never been done before. Conventional GPS receivers require an unobstructed view of the sky to operate reliably.
- Higher accuracy. The SnapTrack architecture includes a wide array of error corrections, including differential corrections to compensate for accuracy intentionally degraded by the U.S. military, and algorithms to mitigate the impacts of multipath and other signal interference.
- Much faster time to first fix. SnapTrack technology can determine the location of a wireless device within a few seconds. Conventional GPS technology can take from 30 seconds to 15 minutes.
- Radically reduced power consumption. SnapTrack technology takes a "snapshot" of GPS when a caller dials 9-1-1 or makes a location request. It remains off when not in use. By comparison, conventional GPS technology must first lock on to, then track, the satellites, forcing it to operate continuously.
- Lower cost. By sharing circuitry and using software running on a handset?s digital signal processing (DSP) chip, the SnapTrack system requires less incremental hardware than conventional GPS technology.
How costly will it be to integrate SnapTrack technology into a wireless device?
The incremental materials cost to add SnapTrack functionality to a digital wireless handset in high volume is expected to range from $5-10 initially. The price is expected to drop sharply with mass volume production, higher degrees of integration, and predictable advances in chip manufacturing technology.
What is the Federal Communications Commission?s (FCC) mandate regarding wireless 9-1-1 calls?
The FCC mandate says wireless carriers must provide the location of 9-1-1 calls to appropriate public safety answer points with an accuracy of 125 meters 67 percent of the time. The deadline for implementing this is October 1, 2001. The commission repeatedly has stressed its technological neutrality regarding the location method chosen by wireless carriers. Its stated goal is to encourage the deployment of the best and most efficient location technologies and systems.
Furthermore, the FCC has said that it is open to a phased-in implementation of E9-1-1 service. SnapTrack?s technology will be phased-in as new subscribers are added to the customer base and as current wireless subscribers replace their handsets. This phased-in approach makes sense. For example, in 1997, about 13 million new wireless subscribers were added, and but 22 million new wireless phones were purchased. The pace of this phased-in approach will accelerate as subscribers convert from analog to digital networks and as PCS networks are expanded.
Why would wireless carriers prefer to use SnapTrack rather than network overlay technology for location?
- Cost. The SnapTrack system not only is a less costly location solution than network overlay, but it also allows a carrier to spread the cost of offering location determination over months or years, matching those expenditures to subscriber growth. With network overlay technology, all the equipment must be installed up front.
- Simplicity. The SnapTrack system is easy to install and requires no new cell sites. With a handset-based location determination solution, the system is deployed as new handsets are activated.
- Performance. SnapTrack technology generally determines location to an accuracy of 5-50 meters, depending on the amount of blockage from foliage or large structures such as buildings. The system operates in a wide range of rural and urban environments and in attenuated signal areas like inside buildings, malls or automobiles with no external antennas. By contrast, network overlay systems perform poorly in these same environments because of an insufficient number or a suboptimal layout of receiver sites, or signal interference that seriously degrades accuracy.
Emergency services demand a high degree of location accuracy, but value-added services such as dispatch, driving directions and location-sensitive billing require even more precise location determination.
- Moore's Law. Intel co-founder Gordon Moore predicted that the number of transistors on a microprocessor would double approximately every 18 months, and to date this prediction has proven remarkably accurate. Installing a network-based location solution means investing significant resources in today's technology. Choosing SnapTrack will allow carriers to benefit from advances in and declining costs of both handset and location technology.
How does the SnapTrack system protect personal privacy while still providing location in an emergency?
With the location-on-demand feature of SnapTrack's technology, the user can remain in control of the location feature by only activating it when dialing 9-1-1 or when they require a location service. Without such a direct caller request, no location information is generated. A location solution based in the network can operate track continuously, without subscriber knowledge or permission, allowing for possible misuses of technology intended only for emergencies or the provision of location-based services.
When can we expect to see SnapTrack-enabled devices operating in the marketplace?
SnapTrack is in negotiations with major U.S., Asian and European wireless carriers and device manufacturers to integrate and roll out the technology. Additional information will be released as these strategic relationships are finalized.
How will SnapTrack handle the installed customer base?
The wireless customer base is not static. As new and existing wireless subscribers buy SnapTrack-enabled phones, the percentage of SnapTrack-enabled location-ready handsets continually will increase. No location technology will cover 100 percent of the customer base 100 percent of the time. The FCC acknowledged this reality with the 67 percent requirement in its mandate. A network-based location solution's failure rate is fixed once the equipment is installed. The failure rate for SnapTrack's handset-based solution will decline as more phones are deployed. While there will always be a faction of subscribers who will resist upgrading to more advanced wireless phones, that group should not be responsible for denying the high-performance SnapTrack technology to the majority of wireless subscribers. |
