Developing Telecoms | China to track smartphones to alleviate traffic

21 May 2012

Regional Trends

LATEST NEWS:

Internet-free mobile Facebook, email and online chat apps platform launches... Indian telco giant taking steps into Brazil Green power solutions provider spreads into South Asia Cable agreement to bolster international connectivity in Iraq Lat Am giant looks to Netherlands to boost European footprint CSP unifying mediation systems across four Central American countries Thai operator secures wireless distribution agreement Financial services project reaching out to millions of Africans Fibre investment on the way in Algeria Android tablets gaining popularity in Southeast Asia Bharti seeking JV takeover as profits slide How an Alternative Approach to SIM Card Provisioning Helps Operators Cure t... Solar-powered learning initiative takes off in Uganda GSMA voices criticism of Indian licensing proposals Enhanced mobile broadband deploying across three Baltic countries Market developments lay the foundation for future growth in Iraq India Feels More Shockwaves from the So-called ‘2G Scandal' Overpriced broadband faces fibre challenge in Angola First commercial 4G services go live in Croatia VimpelCom sells Vietnamese assets TRAI advocates new operators entering 2G auctions Romania’s first MVNE launching imminently Indian tax change could provoke legal action from Vodafone Mobile growth slows in Iran as penetration reaches saturation point Thailand close to finalising 3G auction process Internet Exchange Points Spur Internet Growth in Emerging Markets Incoming fibre boosts investment prospects for Burundi 3G on the way in Djibouti, but competition is required Fibre, not privatisation, could be the answer for Africa’s fixed-line opera... Saudi incumbent looks abroad amidst heated domestic competition Orascom serves Algerian government with arbitration notice Kenya’s mobile sector recovering from slump Download deal aims at attracting Indian Android users

China to track smartphones to alleviate traffic

Thursday, 10 March 2011 16:57 | James Barton

Attention: open in a new window.

The Chinese government has proposed tracking the location of smartphones as a means of managing and ameliorating heavy traffic in Beijing. The city’s traffic problem is notorious; famed for smog and air pollution, Beijing last year saw a static tailback which lasted for nine days, and stretched over 60 miles.

Without providing specific details on the technology to be used, the government has declared via the Municipal People’s Government website that it will be able to determine the locations of 17 million mobile phones throughout Beijing in order to "publish real-time dynamic information to ease congestion and improve the efficiency of public travel."

The country’s Science & Technology Commission Deputy Director of Social Development, Li Guoguang, confirmed that the government does intend to put this plan into effect, but that the requisite technology for the gathering and distribution of data has not been finalised.

The plan has attracted plenty of detractors, with critics decrying it as another way for the Chinese authorities to keep watch over civilians. The professor of wireless communications at the Beijing University of Posts & Telecoms, Chen Derong, has stated: “certainly the use of the [smartphone tracking] platform will not be limited to gathering traffic information. Officials in other areas, such as anti-terrorism and stability maintenance, will also find it useful.”

The Chinese Human Rights Defenders network registered a more direct objection to the plan, telling a British newspaper: “Despite the excuse of traffic control this is part of the escalation of the use of technologies to control social discontent”. The organisation’s Wang Songlian highlighted that last year, in a move that could be seen as an attempt to keep tabs on citizens, the government made it mandatory to register SIM cards.

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites