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News India Live, Digital Desk: Do you sometimes feel that your mobile is listening to you or keeping an eye on where you are going? Well, this fear may turn into reality. We and you had not even understood the benefits and rules of ‘Sanchar Saathi’ portal properly when another big news has created a stir in the world of technology.
The news is that the Government of India for smartphones A-GPS Is considering making it mandatory. Hearing this, big mobile manufacturing companies (like Apple and Samsung) and people who are concerned about privacy are shocked.
Come, let us understand in simple and native language what is the matter and what impact this decision will have on your life.
First of all understand: what is this A-GPS thing?
We all use ‘GPS’ to find our way. It works by directly connecting to the satellite. But A-GPS (Assisted GPS) Its ‘Papa’.
Ordinary GPS takes time to pick up a signal and sometimes gets stuck. At the same time, A-GPS takes the help of your mobile network (tower) and internet. It is so fast and accurate that even if you are hidden inside a building, it can tell your exact location (Pin-point Location).
Why does the government want to do this?
The government’s objective, as always, is our ‘security’.
Officials believe that if an accident happens to a person or he dials an emergency number (like 112), there should not be any delay in the police or ambulance reaching him. With A-GPS, the caller’s location will be traced within seconds. Apart from this, it will also be very helpful in preventing crime and catching criminals.
What is the reason for controversy and fear? (Why are companies protesting)
The issue of security sounds good, but there are some complicated questions behind it, which have given sleepless nights to the mobile companies.
- End of privacy? The biggest question is whether users will get the option to turn off this location tracking? If not, it means that someone can keep an eye on us 24 hours a day. This can be dangerous for our personal freedom.
- Battery Sacrifice: Mobile companies (who are presenting their views through the ICEA organization) say that if the A-GPS system in the phone remains on continuously or is made mandatory, then the battery of the phone will drain very fast.
- Phones will be expensive: To implement this technology in every phone (especially in cheap phones), changes will have to be made in the hardware, which may increase your mobile bill.
Second big blow after Sanchar Saathi
You may remember that some time ago, Sanchar Sathi portal was launched to ‘block and track lost mobiles’, which was praised by the people. But this new A-GPS proposal is a little different because it is linked to the internal hardware and software of the mobile. Mobile manufacturers say this is an “impossible and impractical” demand.