SmartPoint finding its way

By MICHAEL FOREMAN

Henderson mobile data company Network Technology has been invited to demonstrate its SmartPoint cellphone-based location technology to officials from New York's emergency services.

The five-employee firm is hoping to win a contract worth $US320 million ($772 million) to equip the city's 160,000 police, fire, ambulance and other emergency service personnel with handheld locators.

"We are trying not to get too excited about it as we've still got a fair way to go, but we have already climbed a few ladders to get this far," said managing director Kerry Harris.

"It's taken us three months just to speak to the right people."

Mr Harris flew to New York this week to make initial arrangements for competitive trials that will take place this month.

The value of the contract had not been set but he said a reasonable estimate would be $US1000 per user for the hardware, with an equal amount to cover network and management software.

"They are asking for palm-size handsets, which is out of our core area of expertise so we would be looking to partner with a manufacturer. But the software would be our job."

Mr Harris said New York authorities had been seeking technology to pinpoint and communicate with emergency personnel since the September 11 attacks.

SmartPoint was developed by Greenlane-based embedded software specialist Celsius Technology, which owns a minority stake in Network Technology.

Celsius managing director Bruce Maunder said Smartpoint had been five years in development and was the only software solution of its kind that worked with existing wireless infrastructure.

Both companies plan to send representatives to the trials. They will also talk to United States military and other Government departments during their stay.

Mr Harris said the market for cellular location technology had been boosted by a Federal Communications Commission directive issued last October that required all cellphones sold in the United States to be locatable.

"Obviously the events of September 11 brought this to a head, but it goes further than that.

"Out of 16 million 911 calls made in the United States, 65 per cent of the callers did not know where they were."