Re:What is AT&T doing at 1111340002?
by lxgr on Sunday November 07, 2021 @05:05PM
(#29143963)
Great analysis, I agree on all points!
The geographic location seems to be only network-based (i.e. this doesn't poll the phone for GPS data, but only accesses data available to the baseband).
Hopefully, the following requirement also covers flight mode implementations:
> Where location information or
Network Measurement Results has been requested and no service is currently available, then the ME shall return TERMINAL RESPONSE (ME currently unable to process command - no service).
If both are the case, then this does not leak more to the network than it could just determine itself from signalling data. In any case, as many things in these specifications, it leaves quite a lot of wiggle room for implementation mistakes, genuine and otherwise.
As a historical note, there was a quite famous implementation of SIM-based positioning in Germany: One GSM provider implemented a "home zone" feature entirely on the SIM, by populating it with a database of cells that qualify for "home use"; this was then used to bill the landline rate rather than the (at the time quite expensive) mobile rate for outgoing calls.
The geographic location seems to be only network-based (i.e. this doesn't poll the phone for GPS data, but only accesses data available to the baseband).
Hopefully, the following requirement also covers flight mode implementations:
> Where location information or Network Measurement Results has been requested and no service is currently available, then the ME shall return TERMINAL RESPONSE (ME currently unable to process command - no service).
If both are the case, then this does not leak more to the network than it could just determine itself from signalling data. In any case, as many things in these specifications, it leaves quite a lot of wiggle room for implementation mistakes, genuine and otherwise.
As a historical note, there was a quite famous implementation of SIM-based positioning in Germany: One GSM provider implemented a "home zone" feature entirely on the SIM, by populating it with a database of cells that qualify for "home use"; this was then used to bill the landline rate rather than the (at the time quite expensive) mobile rate for outgoing calls.