Page 20 - Campus Security & Life Safety, May/June 2019

geofencing
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campuslifesecurity.com | MAY/JUNE 2019
"The application of geofencing in emergency communication technology is crucial and often overshadowed by its more popular use."
You may have heard the term ‘geofence’ thrown around in the controversial discussion about mcommerce (mobile commerce) or you may even know of the benefits of geofencing capabili- ties within the realm of emergency commu- nication technology, but how vital is geo- fencing as a non-marketing tool? Are all geofences created equal? And what makes a geofence agile?
Popular Gefence Usage
First, let’s dive into what a geofence is.
A geofence is a virtual boundary created through software using GPS, RFID, WiFi or cellular data. Simply put, it’s a non-physical ‘fence’ placed around a physical location. When a device enters the designated area, something can happen (triggered by soft- ware on the device). Geofences are generally more accurate in dense, urban areas because there are more cell towers and routers avail-
able for transmitting location data.
An example of a consumer benefitting from geofences would be if they are inter- ested in a particular event or company and wish to receive location-relevant informa- tion (updates, coupons, deals) from them when they are near. Brick and mortar busi- nesses have been utilizing geofencing in this way to combat their decline and it can work.
But it has also been abused.
As a rule of thumb, app users should
enable GPS or location services and also turn on WiFi on their mobile device to increase the accuracy of geofenced loca- tions. But there are so many apps that ask us for permission to these functions, it’s easy to get consumer fatigue and just turn it all off. This is problematic because geofencing, despite being widely used and abused to try and get us to spend money on products, is also an essential part of many emergency communication services which help to
By Todd Pazicni
Geofences Aren’t Just for Marketers
They can save lives
protect us and keep people safe.
Geofences in Emergency Communication
The application of geofencing in emergency communication technology is crucial and often overshadowed by its more popular use. Perhaps this is simply because topics like emergency communication technology, pub- lic safety and emergency management are unfortunately not openly discussed (until something bad happens) or at the forefront of our collective culture’s mind.
To discuss the vital benefits of geofencing in this way, we must first have a basic under- standing of how 911 works when receiving calls from a cell phone.
911 was implemented over 50 years ago and (obviously) built with no idea that cell phones would exist. So, calling 911 from your cell phone can cause all sorts of issues for PSAPs (Public Safety Answering Points) to be able to get you the emergency services
you may need. There are location accuracy issues, but perhaps even worse, is that your call to 911 may get you in touch with a dis- patcher who is nowhere near your location and has little knowledge of your whereabouts at that time. But how can this be?
It has to do with your cell service provider and your location at that time in relation to cell towers in the surrounding area. Depend- ing on where you are within your county when you call 911, you may be connected to a neighboring county’s PSAP (just because the closest cell tower happens to be in that county) and they’ll transfer you to (what they assume to be) the proper PSAP only after they have determined your actual loca- tion from speaking with you. Oh, and did we mention this was an emergency?
Unfortunately, retrieving all of this infor- mation from you may not even be possible for the dispatcher if you’re panicking. Not to mention the precious seconds (or minutes)