www.opencellid.org is a free project comparable to OpenStreetMap that has set itself the goal of collecting the GPS coordinates of GSM base stations.
This data is provided under the same licence as the OpenStreetMap data.
The GPS coordinates of GSM base stations can be used to track mobile phones, vehicles and the like. While this type of tracking, called cell localisation, is less precise than GPS, it also works in buildings and with devices without a GPS recipient.
ENAiKOON uses this data as a backup in case there are no current GPS coordinates for a mobile object.
There is huge potential in combining GPS, OpenCellId and OpenStreetMap data, for both commercial and private applications.
The OpenCellId database currently contains the data of approx. 655,000 cells worldwide. Detailed statistics can be found here. In contrast to the cell localisation offered by network operators (T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2 and E-Plus), which follows the same principle, this data can also localise a mobile phone or object in other countries.
Help complete the data coverage by installing an app on your GPS mobile phone suitable for gathering cell information. Download the latest apps at http://www.opencellid.org/cell/stats
Benefit for the OSM project:
Starting in summer 2010, ENAiKOON will gather cell data simultaneously with several thousand devices and make it available to the OpenCellId project. Using this data and OpenStreetMap, anyone will be able to write applications that use cell localisation and operate it in conjunction with OpenStreetMap.
