It looks like the community has not built apps to read the cell tower id from the iphone yet... but yes those datasets are a great asset... hopefully can benefit the iphone too as per this thread...
Interesting links I came across while looking at this: http://www.wirelessinfo.com/content/Inside-the-iPhone-field-test-mode.htm http://opengsm.blogspot.com/ - a On 9/12/07, Martin May <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Sep 12, 2007, at 12:24 PM, Andrew Turner wrote: > > Depends on where you are - and like you point out with Wigle - it > comes down to the data. > > > True, it does come down to the data. Christopher started an effort to > collect location data for GSM cells at http://gsmloc.org/, and I > personally mapped most of the Denver area a few years back (for T-Mobile) > using my own software. Cellspotting has a similar database, although I'm not > sure if they have lat/long info for the cells. > > The nice thing about GSM cells is that they probably don't change quite as > often as Wi-Fi hotspots, cover a larger area per cell, and are present in > more places. The drawback is that you have to collect the data for each > provider (maybe similar to Ian's duct-tape cell bundle ;) > > What, specifically, were the licensing qualms with Wigle? Multiple > people have said something similarly vague, but nothing specific as to > why. > > > It's basically as Dan said, they only allow use on one single computer for > one user, pretty much ruling out anything useful that is web-based. They > offer a commercial license, but I have no idea how much they charge for it > or what terms apply to that. > Martin > > -- > Martin May > CTO, Brightkite.com > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > T 720-299-4027 > > On 9/11/07, Martin May <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I've looked at the Wigle database about a month ago, and it seems that > while > the database itself is a great source for geocoded SSIDs (and more > importantly, MAC addresses), the licensing is somewhat restrictive. > > With regards to the iPhone, another interesting question is whether we can > access the API that the field test app i using to show currently visible > cell towers with signal strength. This information could then be used, > similarly to Wi-Fi, to geolocate the handset. Since the GSM network has > better coverage than individual Wi-Fi networks, this could be a more > worthwhile technique > > > Depends on where you are - and like you point out with Wigle - it > comes down to the data. > > What, specifically, were the licensing qualms with Wigle? Multiple > people have said something similarly vague, but nothing specific as to > why. > > > > Martin > > -- > Martin May > CTO, Brightkite.com > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > T 720-299-4027 > > > On Sep 11, 2007, at 6:16 PM, Mike Liebhold wrote: > > There's news today that there might be something useful here for building > iphone wifi geolocation: > http://code.google.com/p/iphone-wireless/ it looks like > it's possible to scan for an AP SSID: > http://code.google.com/p/iphone-wireless/wiki/Apple80211Scan > > ideally, if you have a db of locations of AP SSIDs then all you have to do > is scan and compare visible APs with known AP locations to determine your > location. > > so the question remains, (aside from the skyhook/loki commercial db) what > is > the best source of a db of geocoded wifi AP SSIDs? Drew, Is wifimaps.com > the best, current source? also, I'm wondering if anyone has had any > recent > experience with the wigle db? > > > > > > Drew from Zhrodague wrote: > > Do you or any of these others publish the associated datasets, eg. under > Creative Commons or other open license? Seems there's a problem getting > critical mass of data for such efforts... > > We're releasing the wifimaps.com data under the GPL, as soon as we can > package it into a useful format! > > The next question becomes -- what format do people want their wifi > locations in? WFS? KML? Something made-up? Again, I'm looking for some > kinda > help on this project, as I'm in way over my head =_) > > > > _______________________________________________ > Geowanking mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.burri.to/mailman/listinfo/geowanking > > _______________________________________________ > Geowanking mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.burri.to/mailman/listinfo/geowanking > > > > > -- > Andrew Turner > [EMAIL PROTECTED] 42.2774N x 83.7611W > http://highearthorbit.com Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA > Introduction to Neogeography - http://oreilly.com/catalog/neogeography > _______________________________________________ > Geowanking mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.burri.to/mailman/listinfo/geowanking > > > > _______________________________________________ > Geowanking mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.burri.to/mailman/listinfo/geowanking > >
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