SKT and KT Rated 'Excellent' for Emergency Location Information Provision... LG Uplus 'Needs Improvement'

KCC Announces Quality Measurement Results of Personal Location Information

Top 3 Mobile Carriers' GPS-Based Location Success Rate and Location Accuracy in 2020

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] In emergency situations such as falls or abductions, mobile phones serve as crucial clues for emergency rescue agencies like the Fire Agency, the Coast Guard, and the police to determine the location of the person in need. This is why efforts to improve the quality of personal location information from mobile carriers and mobile devices are important.

The Korea Communications Commission announced on the 4th the results of measuring the quality of personal location information from the three major mobile carriers and other devices from September to December last year. The measurement was based on positioning technologies (base station, GPS, Wi-Fi) by temporarily enabling the device’s functions during emergencies when the GPS and Wi-Fi functions were turned off.

Looking at the success rates of emergency rescue location information provided by the three carriers, the GPS method showed 82.9%, and the Wi-Fi method showed 82.3%. Compared to 2019, the success rates, response times, and accuracy of location information for each positioning method including GPS, Wi-Fi, and base stations have generally improved.

Among the three carriers, only LG Uplus remains unchanged

The average GPS location success rate of the three carriers improved from 80.6% in 2019 to 82.9%, and location accuracy improved from 62.5m to 60.3m. By company, SK Telecom led with 94.4%, followed by KT at 93.1%, and LG Uplus at 61.1%. SK Telecom was the best performer. For location accuracy, KT was best at 34.5m, followed by SK Telecom at 39.5m, and LG Uplus at 82.2m, indicating that LG Uplus needs improvement in both accuracy and success rate.

For Wi-Fi method measurements, the Wi-Fi location success rate of the three carriers improved from 80.7% in 2019 to 82.3%, and location accuracy improved from 65.2m to 61.9m. By company, KT led with 97.4%, SK Telecom followed at 97.2%, and LG Uplus at 52.3%. Location accuracy was measured at 30.2m for SK Telecom, 33.0m for KT, and 90.2m for LG Uplus. While SK Telecom and KT performed well, LG Uplus requires improvement.

For base station method measurements, the Wi-Fi location accuracy of the three carriers improved from 264.0m in 2019 to 225.5m, and location response time improved from 2.8 seconds to 1.9 seconds. By company, SK Telecom recorded 70.0m, KT 142.4m, and LG Uplus 485.6m for accuracy, and response times were 1.6 seconds for SK Telecom, 1.9 seconds for KT, and 2.3 seconds for LG Uplus. SK Telecom and KT performed well, but LG Uplus needs improvement.

Foreign and MVNO phones provide only partial GPS and Wi-Fi location information

Regarding the quality measurement of location information for devices other than the three major carriers, base station location information was confirmed to be provided for major foreign (foreign manufacturers) devices, unlocked (general market) devices, MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) devices, and devices with SIM mobility (carrier switching). However, GPS and Wi-Fi location information are partially provided depending on whether the positioning technology is applied to the device used, but have improved compared to 2019.

In the case of Apple, the iPhone 11 provides GPS location information only during emergency calls, and does not provide Wi-Fi location information because the three carriers’ positioning modules are not installed. Xiaomi’s Mi 10 and Huawei’s P40 Pro do not provide location information for either GPS or Wi-Fi because the three carriers’ positioning modules are not installed.

Chairman Han Sang-hyuk stated, “Based on the results of this emergency rescue location information quality measurement, we will continue to promote related system improvements through consultations with relevant ministries and operators to apply standard emergency rescue positioning technologies so that the location information of those in urgent situations can be provided more quickly and accurately to emergency rescue agencies.”

The Korea Communications Commission has been conducting quality measurements of emergency rescue location information since 2019 and publicly releasing the results to encourage the three major carriers to improve the quality of emergency rescue location information.