UPDATE: Bell dismisses claims it’s throttling GPS signals

Google Maps and other third-party navigation services will be forced to pay money to Bell Canada to get access to enhanced satellite tracking signals, called assisted GPS (AGPS), if they want to provide accurate mapping services.Bell spokesperson Jacques Bouchard told Report on Wireless in an interview late last week that if a company such as Google wants to be able offer a level of service equivalent to that provided by GPS Nav, then it will have to ante up for access to the AGPS signals.Asked whether Bell is in discussions with Google about a potential arrangement, Bouchard replied: "I'm not at liberty to talk about any agreements we would have with any provider. We never discuss any in advance," he said.Reports surfaced last week that Bell would begin to delay the time it would take to establish a GPS connection anywhere from two minutes to 10 minutes, up from 15 to 20 seconds normally experienced by customers using late-model BlackBerry devices such as the 8830, 8130 Pearl and the 8330 Curve.One blogger at Wellington Financial claims that in addition to delays, "there is some speculation that the resolution of GPS data will also be reduced to a 1-2.5km range as opposed to the existing 10-25m accuracy currently provided - not exactly useful when trying to find the location for your next meeting downtown in an unfamiliar city." The source of the speculation comes from an internal memo.Bouchard denied allegations that Bell was interfering with the GPS signals that transmit Google Maps and other third-party navigation services - despite what many bloggers were alleging. "We do not block or interfere in anyway with the GPS signal," he told RoW last week.Bouchard said this has nothing to do with interfering with GPS signals and is only about a corporate decision to begin charging for enhanced navigation services. "We've been using a third-party platform to enhance GPS applications and Bell has not charged for this enhanced service in anyway," he said. "So we've taken a business decision to provide a Bell-branded applications going forward. So it has nothing to do with the signal at all."The spokesperson noted that Bell was not going to prevent or inhibit subscribers from using other map and navigation services such as Google Maps and BlackBerry maps, but it is now clear is that those services will get short shrift because they don't have access to the more accurate AGPS signals.According to Bell's website, the GPS Nav service is available to smartphone users for $10 per month in addition to the monthly data plan charges. A $3.50 fee is levied daily subscriptions, but users still require a monthly data package. For mobile phone users, the fees are $8 per month plus data charges with daily rates remaining the same.

UPDATE: Bell dismisses claims it’s throttling GPS signals

News | September 29, 2008

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