'Cell-phone service is the new DNA': Picocells increase accuracy of location tracknig

Grits has reported in the past that cell-phone location tracking is becoming exponentially more accurate with the growing use of "femtocells" by consumers to boost cell signals in the home. Turns out another signal boosting technology - "picocells" - are making cell-phone tracking even more precise. Grits ran across on article on cell-phone mapping in the May 2011 issue of Law Enforcement Technology magazine, which offered this explanation:

"Picocells" - smaller sites that have 360-degree coverage and are mounted on telephone poles rather than taking up land - are a cost-effective solution for carriers that want to boost signal without building or leasing new towers. As a result, they're becoming prevalent in urban areas. Meant to offload traffic and improve coverage, picocells will be more numerous, and will this provide a much more accurate path of travel and location.

As location tracking becomes more precise, the argument that no warrant should be required to access the information becomes less and less defensible. Location data is the ultimate biometric because no two things, and thus no two people, can be in the same place at the same time, much less travel the same routes moment to moment throughout their days. As tech consultant Jim Cook told the magazine, "Cell phone service is the new DNA." See more background in an interview with Cook from Cops 2.0, from which Grits found the above-referenced article.