Society

Beijing to track residents' location by mobile

By Zhang Jiawei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-03-02 13:03

Beijing is planning to set up a positioning platform based on the database of the city's 17 million China Mobile subscribers to enable the city's planners to be aware of a selected area's population distribution and movement.

The first batch of selected areas will be the populous Huilongguan and Tiantongyuan in the city's north, and Yizhuang in the south may also be included, Beijing Morning Post reported Wednesday, citing sources from Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission.

Positioning will be based on the carrier's network.

The platform is expected to be set up in the first half of the year, after which instant transportation information will be used to guide the city's gridlocked traffic and help ease traffic jams, according to the commission.

"Apart from serving for traffic, the platform can also enable the municipal government to know the total population at a certain area at a certain time, which will be helpful to population management," said Li Guoguang from the commission.

Li said they will protect residents' privacy while using the data.