Competing Technologies
Polaris products deliver superior performance and cost advantages. Powerful wireless signature technology enables Polaris products to outperform other solutions in dense urban and indoor environments where line-of-sight is not always available. Polaris products have greater accuracy and reliability and lower ownership and maintenance costs compared to other network-based solutions in suburban and rural environments.

	Technology	Advantages	Disadvantages
Handset-based Systems	A-GPS	High accuracy in “open sky” conditions Moderate deployment costs for system's network component	Must replace handsets Higher handset costs & long replacement cycles Yield and accuracy issues in urban canyons & indoors
Network-based Systems	TDOA and AOA	Moderate accuracy Works with existing handsets	Must add overlay receiver network & expensive LMU hardware to each cell site Very high deployment costs Problems with non line-of-sight conditions Coverage problems in rural areas
	Wireless Location Signatures	Moderate accuracy Works with existing handsets Expedited deployment times Significantly lower total cost of ownership compared to TDOA and AOA	Coverage issues in rural areas, but performs better than TDOA & AOA

Technology Comparison

	Wireless Location Signatures	TDOA & AOA	A-GPS
Handset Requirements	None	None	Hardware and software modifications
Network Requirements	Standard data interfaces	Major modifications to base stations with LMU hardware for each cellsite	Data interfaces
Location Accuracy	Moderate	Moderate	High in open sky
Coverage Reliability	High	Inconsistent due to line-of-sight and geometry requirements	Inconsistent for urban canyons and indoors
Implementation Cost	Low	Extremely high	High for handsets
Operation Cost	Low	High	Low

Polaris Wireless Location Signatures (WLS™) Benefits

Accuracy

• Meets the FCC E911 Phase II mandate now
• Enhances location accuracy for standard or A-GPS phones, no matter which wireless air interface is used
• Makes location-based services viable and practical

Reliability

• Uses existing network data and standard interfaces
• Locates callers accurately in 100% of cases

Timeliness

• Meets public safety requirements now
• Faster to deploy than other network-based hardware solutions
• Shortens time-to-market for commercial services

Flexibility

• Deploy stand-alone or side-by-side with existing technology
• Complements A-GPS technology
• Cover the entire handset base immediately

Savings

• No additional network hardware
• Works with existing handsets -- no changes required
• Low cost of ownership
• Extensible platform supports future network technologies and applications