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Cellular Phones/cell phone location records-- what do they show?

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Expert: - 5/11/2010


Question
I have a question about cell phone records. I am looking at some records that give a location for specific dates and times when particular calls were made or received on the cell phone (a Nextel device). The location listed is not exact-- it is just a city and state. My question is: does the city and state listed show the location of the actual cell phone at the time of the call, or does it show the location of the cell tower or the "switch" that the cell phone used for that call? And if the record is showing the location of the cell tower or switch, how far away can that be from the location of the actual cell phone? Thanks!

Answer
It tells the location of the cell tower that passed the call to the cell phone. It's hard to say how far the tower is away from the device, but you can be assured that it is relatively close, because there is only so far of a distance that a cell phone can be from a tower in order to get a call. So, for example, if the location shows as Santa Monica, CA, the phone couldn't have been in Malibu, CA or even Hollywood. It would have had to have been within a mile or two or five of the tower. I hope this helps. Thanks. DebiN

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DebiN

Expertise

I can answer questions on cellular phones, the physical device, the network, contracts, billing, ordering, porting and what to look for when purchasing cell phones. I am located in the United States. I am an expert on BlackBerrys, Treos, HTC devices and iPhones as well as cellphones and aircards. I have over 15 years of experience in both the wireless and wireline world with the carriers. I have a lot of knowledge regarding the wireless providers - their services, prices and policies, both GSM AT&T and T-Mobile) and CDMA (Verizon, Sprint/Nextel). I am very familiar with the individual devices and their specifications. I can also answer questions regarding BlackBerrys, iPhones and other PDAs, both Palm-based and Windows-based. I can troubleshoot most any problem someone is having with their cellular device or with the provider.

Experience

Over 20 years in the Telecom industry working for the carriers with individuals, small business, medium business and large corporations(Fortune 500). Also worked as a professor in Maryland for 10 years teaching telecommunications.

Organizations
I belong to several organizations

Education/Credentials
Master's in Telecommunications

Awards and Honors
Received several awards for papers that I have published over the years

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