location-based services

Location-based services exploit any of several technologies for knowing where a network user is geographically located. One is the Global Positioning System (GPS), based on a collection of 24 Navstar satellites developed originally for the U.S. Department of Defense. A land-based GPS receiver uses these satellites to determine its location, within 50 meters to 100 meters. A location-based service could require that each of its users have a mobile device that contains a GPS receiver. A second approach is E911, an initiative of the Federal Communications Commission (Fcc) that requires wireless carriers to pinpoint a caller's telephone number to emergency dispatchers. E911 also ensures that carriers will be able to provide call locations from wireless phones. E911 is the most widely used location-based service in the U.S.

Allied Business Intelligence estimates that the LBS industry will account for more than $40 billion in revenue by 2006. Most telecommunications carriers plan to pursue either network- or handset-based location fixing technologies in their networks. Sprint Corp. recently announced it planned to incorporate GPS chips into its handsets in 2001, which could provide a boost to the nascent industry. Several other companies are wrapping up initial LBS and location-relevant wireless advertising test markets.

Another obstacle to immediate widespread adoption of LBS are concerns about privacy and unsolicited wireless advertising. The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) is asking the FCC to create specific rules about wireless location privacy. The CTIA proposal says a technical solution must include notice, consent, and security - and be technology-neutral.

Read more about location-based services: - Allied Business Intelligence offers white papers about wireless telecommunications. - PangoNetworks discusses how short-range wireless communications could enable a new class of proximity-driven applications.

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