November 2002

An asset tracking system using GSM location rather than the more familiar GPS has been developed by Podsystem, a specialist in remote asset tracking, monitoring and management. Currently the company is providing the service in association with Orange.

GSM location is a relatively new concept in the UK, and uses positioning information gathered by mobile phone service providers to locate individuals in a given organisation. Accuracy typically ranges from 10 to 100 metres, says Podsystem managing director Charles Towers-Clark.

Advantages include the fact that no special location hardware is needed, assuming each user has an ordinary mobile phone, and coverage is better than with GPS, which cannot track people indoors. "Polling" costs are similar to those for other systems.

Only approved agents such as Podsystem can offer the service, since security of mobile network data is considered paramount.

 

Podsystem came to prominence as a supplier of secure "intelligent" boxes for unattended deliveries to field staff or consumers, but nowadays it concentrates more on the data network it built up to support them. Among its specific services is computer tracking, which helps organisations monitor the location of their PCs and peripherals.