[LINK] UK Government plans cell phone tower tracking system

[Tony Barry]

Extracted item provided for information.

Source:NewsScan Daily, 15 October 2002 ("Above The Fold")
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UK GOVERNMENT PLANS CELL PHONE TOWER TRACKING SYSTEM
The government of the U.K. is funding secret radar technology research that
uses mobile phone masts to enable security officials to watch vehicles and
people in real time almost anywhere in Britain. The Celldar technology,
which works wherever there is cell phone coverage, "sees" the shapes made
when radio waves emitted by the towers meet an obstruction. Signals bounced
back by immobile objects, such as buildings and trees, are filtered out by
the receiver, and what's left on the screen are images of anything that
moves. When combined with technology that allows individuals to be
identified by their mobile phone handsets, the Celldar system would enable
security officials to locate and track a specific person from hundreds of
miles away. An individual using one type of receiver, a portable unit a
little bigger than a laptop, could even create a "personal radar space"
around his or her location for security purposes. Researchers are also
working on an "X-ray vision" feature that would enable the devices to "see"
through walls and look into people's homes. UK Ministry of Defence
officials are hoping to introduce the system as soon as resources allow,
but civil liberties advocates have been quick to complain: "It's an
appalling idea. The government is just capitalizing on current public fears
over security to introduce new systems that are neither desirable nor
necessary," says Simon Davies, director of Privacy International. (The
Observer 13 Oct 2002)
http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,811027,00.html
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