Phone-GPS Software Lets Tampa Company Watch Over Pope

Where's the pope right now?

One small Tampa company called Actsoft Inc. can tell you exactly where he is. They're tracking the cell phones of the papal entourage by GPS as the pope travels through New York. It's the same technology the company uses to track DUI parolees in the Florida.

Here's why: Actsoft software was placed onto about 600 Sprint cell phones that were handed out to the papal entourage, including 40 given to the Pope's caravan, all cardinals and Vatican VIP personnel. It is likely Pope Benedict XVI is carrying one, too.

Each phone is programmed to send its GPS coordinates to a central location - through Actsoft - which is shared with communications technicians and security personnel.

Granted, the pope is now one of the most watched people in the country, with TV cameras trained on his every move. So why would anyone need extra info about his whereabouts?

That information could be critical in locating the pope or other officials in an emergency when other radio signals could become overcrowded with communications traffic. The other 599 people given phones with the Actsoft system installed also may need to find one another during a crisis.

Tom Mitchell, CEO and founder of Actsoft, said the company was honored to track the pope, and "My understanding is that he could be carrying one on his person. So when he's out on foot, we could certainly track him there, too."

With the system, Actsoft can plot the location of any member of the entourage down to a few dozen feet.

For instance, on Friday Actsoft's system showed the Pope's caravan driving from New Jersey, across the George Washington Bridge and down the east side of Manhattan to the United Nations Plaza on First Avenue. Minutes later, the pope gave a televised address to the United Nations about human rights, among other things.

The project is a high-profile coup for Actsoft, Mitchell said. Founded in 1996, the company has grown quickly, posting about $12 million in sales last year. The irony is that besides tracking the pope, Actsoft's main line of work is helping track employees, vehicles - and convicts.

One of the company's fastest-growing divisions tracks parolees who have agreed to wear ankle bracelets that can detect signs of alcohol consumption, which would be a violation of their parole terms. Actsoft now tracks about 1,200 parolees nationwide with the system, including about 250 parolees added in the past two weeks.