touch-packages team mailing list archive

[Antti Kaijanmäki <antti.kaijanmaki@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

** Summary changed:

- Extend the connectivity-api for mobile network scanning
+ [connectivity-service] Extend the connectivity-api for mobile network scanning

** Also affects: indicator-network (Ubuntu)
   Importance: Undecided
       Status: New

** No longer affects: connectivity-api

-- 
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
Touch seeded packages, which is subscribed to indicator-network in
Ubuntu.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1416741

Title:
  [connectivity-service] Extend the connectivity-api for mobile network
  scanning

Status in indicator-network package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  I think exposing as much information as possible about mobile networks
  opens the door for interesting applications, e.g. IMSI catcher
  detectors, free cell tower location databases, location-based services
  etc.


  Technology

  There are currently at least four different mobile network
  technologies available around the world:

  -    GSM

  -    LTE

  -    CDMA

  -    WCDMA (UMTS)

  A device may support one or more technologies at the same time, and
  the currently available status may therefore change over time. For
  example an LTE device may temporarily roam down to UMTS or even GSM.


  Needed information

  The available information differs between technologies, and new
  technologies will be introduced during the lifetime of the API, so the
  design should be extensible.

  -    GSM: A base station is identified by its Cell-ID (CID), Location
  Area Code (LAC), Mobile Country Code (MCC) and Mobile Network Code
  (MNC). The last digit of the CID may encode the antenna number if the
  same base station has more than one. Signal strength may be reported
  in ASU, dBm or “levels”. A Timing Advance value is used to coarsely
  describe the distance between the mobile device and the currently used
  base station.

  -    LTE: A base station is identified by its Cell-ID (CID), Mobile
  Country Code (MCC), Mobile Network Code (MNC), Physical Cell ID and
  Tracking Area code. Signal strength may be reported in ASU, dBm or
  “levels”. Timing Advance values are available for every base station
  of the same operator within range, not only for the currently used
  one.

  -    CDMA: A base station is identified by its Base Station ID,
  Latitude, Longitude, Network ID and System ID. Signal strength may be
  reported in ASU, dBm, Ec/Io, “levels” or SNR. EVDO for faster data
  transfer may be available.

  -    WCDMA (UMTS): A base station is identified by its Cell-ID (CID),
  Mobile Country Code (MCC), Mobile Network Code (MNC) and Primary
  Scrambling Code. Signal strength may be reported in ASU, dBm or
  “levels”.


  API calls and features

  The Baseband chip has to monitor the whole network at all times
  anyway, so the required information should be readily available. A
  single call a la `networkCells()` should therefore suffice. The rest
  of the API is heavily dependent on which methods the Baseband offers
  and which data it exposes.


  Security and Privacy

  A hostile app may calculate the location of a user from the list of
  cell towers in range. Because of the long-range nature of mobile
  networks this location will often not be accurate, but especially in
  cities it may be accurate enough. I therefore propose that the first
  call to networkCells() triggers a system popup informing the user
  about possible privacy implications and asking for permission.

To manage notifications about this bug go to:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/indicator-network/+bug/1416741/+subscriptions