Alcatel's Mobile Beacon Technology Tracks Wireless Service Levels

Alcatel introduced a Mobile Beacon system that transforms users' phones into service level monitors for wireless networks. The technology uses a lightweight mechanism to detect network coverage issues and interaction issues between applications, SIM cards and phones. Application providers could set flags, or beacons, in their mobile applications in order to detect events of interest for analysis, reporting & alerts. Alcatel said these beacons can warn against service malfunctions, guide towards service improvements, and measure the fit between the operator's target market and the subscribers who actually use the services.
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