July/Aug 2005

Our impression

The huge attraction of tracking mobile workers via their mobile phones is the low start-up cost and the simplicity of the set-up procedure. There is no hardware to install. All you need are employees' mobile phone numbers. You can change the numbers being tracked easily via the Web site. You simply log on to your account and make the necessary amendments.

Mapaphone's location application works on the cell ID principle. The mobile phone network operator knows which cell the mobile telephone is currently located in, and feeds this information to the tracking system so that the latitude and longitude of the cell can be identified on a map.

The accuracy depends of the density of the network operator's base stations, of course. In urban areas, position reports can be accurate to within 100 metres. In rural areas, two or three miles might be as accurate as you will get. However, Mapaphone says its platform will support cellular phones with embedded GPS engines when these become available, and that could mean a radical improvement in accuracy.

 

To comply with the Data Protection Act and protect staff from unwanted surveillance, you have to get employees' written agreement to be tracked - and that applies regardless of whether they're using a company phone or their own. Mapaphone makes this process as straightforward as possible: users download a standard form from the Web site and fax it back once it is signed. Mapaphone can then activate the tracking.

The DPA rules also require you to arrange for messages to be sent to the phone at random intervals, reminding employees their phones are being located, and naming company that is doing the locating. The phone user should also be able to opt out and switch off the tracking facilitate by sending an SMS message.

Mapaphone quotes a rate of £50 a year to register ten mobile phones for tracking (you don't have to add them all at once). Additional phones costs £2.50 per phone. Unlike GPS tracking, however, this type of system has ongoing costs. You pay each time you check the location of the phone. Current Mapaphone rates are 20p per location fix or 'ping', and 7p per SMS text message.

However, you can reduce the cost by adding credit to your account. Adding £50 secures a 5 per cent discount; add £500 and you get a 15 per cent discount. For large volumes of handsets, Mapaphone will tailor a bespoke package.

You can check the location of any worker discreetly, simply by polling the phone. There is no need for the mobile worker to be aware of this. If the phone is switched off when you poll it you will be unable to locate it, but you will still pay the polling charge, admits Mapaphone. However, Orange, Vodafone and T-Mobile networks will show the last known position of the mobile. The O2 network will report that no location results are available.

Mapaphone has made an effort with its Web site to introduce some features to appeal to corporate users. You can, for example, use the scheduled polling tool to check the location of mobile workers automatically at a given time or times throughout the day. You can also structure polling so that the system polls individuals, groups or cell areas. You can add your own locations and coordinate mobile workers around them.

It is possible to build a route between two locations (choosing shortest or fastest) with turn-by-turn directions. This feature has been primarily designed as a walking route planner, but it could be a bonus for your delivery person, who may want to find nearest bank or other local service.

The Web site is easy to use. Ordnance Survey and Navteq provide the mapping and location data, and the Royal Mail's Postcode Address File is also included, with its 26 million UK addresses.

As well as using the maps to plot the location of a phone on the map, you can use them to identify customer addresses and match these with the location of the nearest mobile employees. Zooming in and out is easy and fast, and you can enter a postcode to find an address quickly.

Our verdict

If you think your business process could benefit from knowing exactly where certain workers are at a given time, but are unwilling to invest a lot of money, Mapaphone offers a relatively painless way of dipping your toe in the tracking systems water. You'll find it's easy to set up the system, easy to add and remove phones and easy to change the polling arrangements.

You do need to keep an eye on the ongoing costs, but if these start to creep up, it could well be a sign that tracking is beneficial to the business, and that it is time to consider a more function-rich tracking and mobile worker management application