Location Information System Makes Waves

PHS is designed to function in smaller cells than other cellular phone systems. This characteristic has let to the realization of the PHS location information system. As one PHS cell station covers a radius of mere 100 to 500 meters*, the approximate whereabouts of a PHS user can be detected by monitoring the cell stations in the proximity of the user. Utilizing this characteristic, various content services, such as road map information service, can be offered to PHS users.

The main features of the positioning service are as follows:

- The central service counter has information about locations (addresses as well as positions in latitude and longitude) and ID numbers of cell stations (CS-ID).
- Users need to inform the service center in some ways of the ID number of a nearby cell station (CS-ID).
- The service center determines the user’s location and provides information helpful for the user in the specified location.

DDI Pocket Group offers “Navigation Service near Stations”, PHS location information service, through cooperation with Toshiba Corp. since October, 1997 as its first commercial service. Toshiba Corp. has the Web site, “Exploring Club of the Downtown near Stations.” This site provides businessmen with a wide variety of information, including restaurants, hotels and station malls information.

PHS user, with PDA (Personal Digital Assistance, e.g., Toshiba’s GENIO),only need to access the Web site: the PHS location information system will identify the location of the user and the site will send information about the areas where the user is.
[Note: Notebook PC plus a PHS terminal can be used for PDA.].
More applications of the PHS location information system are now under preparation. In an office equipment maintenance company, repair service persons take PHS terminals with them and their locations are being notified to the operation center. When a customer asks for checks on equipment, the company can route efficiently a service person to the customer.
It is applicable to detecting the location of wandering elderly people who have difficulty in identifying themselves. Taxi companies are studying for routing taxi cabs. Businesses in various fields have high expectations for the PHS positioning service as it does not require large-scale investment.