Find the location of a GSM cell tower by CellID

There are several sites [1] where you can look up the geographical coordinates of a GSM tower based on its CellID, MCC (Mobile Country Code), MNC (Mobile Network Code) and LAC (Location Area Code). The problem with these sites is that their databases are filled by volunteers and the coverage is at almost useless level. However it seems that companies like Google and Nokia have their own databases used in conjunction with their maps applications which are astonishingly accurate and complete.
So the question is how to (if possible) get information form these databases for personal use.

The answer is:  www.9mhz.info
You can use this site to get the location information of a cell tower. This page uses the Google maps database and shows the location on the map.

How to check the cell ID on Nokia phones

Here is a snip from the Nokia AT command description document regarding the CellID and signal level parameters:

AT+CREG=2
OK
AT+CREG?
+CREG: 2,1,"1030","639E"

The returned values are as follows:
"2" reflects the current "+CREG" setting (2 means "Enables unexpected network
registration and location information messages" )
"1" indicates that the phone is registered with the network
"1030" is the Location Area Code (LAC) in hex (4144 decimal)
"639E" is the CellID (CI) in hex (25502 decimal).


AT+CSQ
+CSQ: 13,99

Returns:
13 = signal level, 99 = bit error rate unknown.

USSD Spec - Stage 2

Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+);
Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) - Stage 2

ETSI TS 100 549 V7.0.0 (1999-08)

USSD Spec - Stage 1

3rd Generation Partnership Project;
Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects;
Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) - Stage 1
(Release 1999)
22090-310

SMPP protocol spec

SMPP V3.4 Specification - smpp_v3_4_issue1_21