Non-Technical Product Summary / FAQs

What is the Geometrix® MLC?
Andrew's Geometrix MLC is the world's most versatile mobile location system. Supporting more mobile locating technologies than any rival system, the Geometrix MLC system can support the broadest range of enterprise and consumer commercial location-based services (LBSs) as well as public safety and security applications. The Geometrix MLC system gives mobile network operators freedom to select and deploy at any time the locating technology that best meets their business objectives.

What applications does the Geometrix MLC system support?
The Geometrix MLC system is application and technology agile and can locate mobiles to provide the most effective support for location-sensitive services and applications. Such services and applications fall into three principal generic families: (1) a broad range of Enterprise and Consumer commercial LBSs such as, "Where's My Child?", "Where's My Service Manager, Delivery Truck, or Valuable Package?", roadside assistance, or driving directions (2) Public Safety in the provision of location information of callers to emergency service centers such as 112 and 911; and (3) Security to locate and track specific individuals or items of interest.

What locating technologies does the Geometrix MLC system support?
Andrew's Geometrix MLC system supports the full range of mobile locating techniques, more than any competing location system. Mobile network operators can choose the locating technology(ies) to deploy in their Geometrix MLC systems according to business needs and the location-based services and applications the operator wishes to support.

The Geometrix MLC system supports A-GPS (assisted GPS), Matrix, E-CID (enhanced cell identity), and U-TDOA (uplink time difference of arrival). AOA (angle of arrival) is also supported as a supplement to U-TDOA under very difficult reception conditions, but it is unlikely that operators would deploy it to support commercial applications.

No other mobile location system supports all of these locating techniques. The Geometrix MLC system is frequency-agile and can serve any combination of network technologies. Operators can deploy the Geometrix MLC locating technologies individually or in any combination. The Geometrix MLC system gives operators the freedom to supplement their initial systems with additional locating technologies after the systems are deployed.

What is the system's hardware/software?
The heart of every Geometrix MLC system is a Geometrix Location Center . The Location Center usually is deployed at an MSC site in the mobile network and connects to Lb interface(s) with the network's BSC(s).

The Geometrix Location Center houses SMLC, GMLC, SLP, and/or SAS functionality and one or more mobile location servers and the software that acquires location-related data from various sources and computes the location of target mobiles. The Location Center manages all Geometrix MLC system resources, integrates location data from individual servers, manages communications with entities external to the Geometrix MLC system, and provides the maintenance/operations interface for operator OA&M personnel and subsystems.

Is there any other Geometrix MLC hardware?
No Geometrix equipment other than that associated with the Location Center is required for A-GPS, Matrix, and E-CID.

In Geometrix systems that use U-TDOA, small LMUs (Location Measuring Units) are installed at selected base station locations (maximum of one LMU per base station site). LMUs provide the target mobile signal measurements that are used in the Location Center to compute locations using U-TDOA methods.

How does the Geometrix MLC system work?
Depending on a system's configuration, the Geometrix MLC system can use individually or in combination up to four primary methods for establishing the location of a mobile: A-GPS, Matrix, E-CID, and U-TDOA. The Geometrix MLC system also supports AOA to supplement U-TDOA in very difficult reception conditions.

Each location technology is a different method of measuring, calculating, and establishing the geometry that yields a precise position for a target mobile. The baseline data/measurements to compute locations are gathered, depending on the locating method, from mobiles, the mobile network, or special measuring devices (LMUs).The data/measurements are collected into the Location Center where the appropriate location server calculates the target mobile's position.

How is the hardware installed?
The Geometrix MLC Location Center hardware is installed at the network location(s) selected, generally an MSC site. The installation can be performed by Andrew or by a trained subcontractor.

If the operator has chosen to implement U-TDOA, LMUs are installed at selected BTS sites. Every Geometrix MLC system has a Location Center . The number of LMUs in a Geometrix MLC system that uses U-TDOA can vary from a few to many hundreds.

Can the Geometrix MLC system locate an idle mobile?
Within certain limitations, a Geometrix MLC system can locate and track idle mobiles using A-GPS or Matrix. In the system's current configuration, idle mobiles cannot be located or tracked using U-TDOA.

Can the Geometrix MLC system locate mobiles in buildings or in moving vehicles?
The Geometrix MLC system can locate and track mobiles that are stationary, in-motion, outdoors, indoors, and in vehicles. Yield and latency performance can degrade for an A-GPS location when the target mobile's view of the GPS satellites is obscured, such as when the mobile is in buildings or deep in urban canyons.

Does the mobile user know that a Geometrix MLC system is determining the mobile's location?
In general, no. There is no audible or other clue available to the mobile user that the Geometrix MLC system is operating. However, with A-GPS, it may be possible for a user to disable the mobile's ability to be located.

U-TDOA has important attributes for security applications: it works with any mobile, it does not rely on the mobile to participate in the location process, it is undetectable in operation, and it cannot be disabled at the mobile.

Does the Geometrix MLC system monitor and/or record mobile calls? Can the Geometrix MLC system "tap" calls?
No.

Does the Geometrix MLC system interfere with the mobile network?
No. The Geometrix MLC system makes its location determinations independently of the host mobile network and neither interferes with network operation nor decreases the capacity of the network.

What is the Geometrix MLC system's service history?
The Geometrix MLC system was the first FCC E911 Phase II compliant system in commercial service and the first GSM-compatible mobile location system to fully meet the FCC's accuracy and other performance requirements for E911 Phase II.

The Geometrix MLC system has been installed by 16 operators throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Today, the Geometrix MLC system supports over 20 million subscribers and more than 200 million in rural, suburban, and urban localities, including the largest cities in the U.S.

The Geometrix MLC system is in service in GSM, TDMA, CDMA, 1xRTT, and AMPS cellular and PCS networks. The Geometrix MLC system was first deployed in commercial service in October 2001 by Verizon Wireless to support E911 emergency caller location.