The drive to improve location fixing started with the US Federal Communications Commission. It wants to ensure that emergency services can pinpoint people who call in from mobiles but don't know where they are. The FCC ordained that by this time next year all operators of cellular networks in the US must have decided how they intend to locate mobile phones. They must then put those plans into action. Though the European Commission wants similar plans in place by 2002, the emphasis in Europe is less on complying with regulation as seizing opportunities.
Analysts agree that a multibillion-dollar market is about to open up.
What they can't agree on is which method phones will use to divine their position. Competition between technologies is fierce, and it's too early yet to say which will win. At present the best you can do to locate a cellphone is find out which cell it's in. In central London a cell might be as little as 200 metres across, but out in the sticks it may cover several square kilometres. Either way, the resolution is useless for all but the least demanding needs.