7th July 2004

The location services market is starting to generate momentum. Subscribers are willing to pay for services that truly add value. For instance, users want to know:

• where the nearest 24 hour pharmacy is located AND how to get there
• where the nearest Thai restaurant can be found AND immediately make a reservation
• where the new movie release is playing AND buy tickets and pay for it via my phone bill

And providers are starting to deploy a number of solutions (see figure 1). If you have been considering entering the location market, now is the time.

How it Works
There are a number of different solutions out there today (see figure 2). For those unfamiliar with the business, location services can be dropped into two big categories of location services: "finder" and "find me" applications. Finder services have been out for a while and they allow subscribers to find things that are nearby. Hot, relevant content is what drives this kind of service.

The newer category, Find Me applications, let the user see a map showing their location. This group of apps is starting to take off. On the horizon are some exciting new services including: driving directions, roadside assist, personal safety, "find the nearest" services with branded content, Locate Me, Friend Finder and Child Tracker.

How Location Services Are Structured
The structure for commercial services allows the user to interact with an application via SMS or WAP. When the app gets to the point where it needs location to continue, it sends a message to the Openwave Location Studio requesting the subscriber's location. The Location Studio will verify that the specific application is allowed to get that user's location, and if so will interface to the Location Manager to proceed. The Location Manager sits in the operator's network and interfaces to the operator's switches, HLR, and any available, Position Determination Entities (PDE's). From these, Location Manager gathers and computes the best available location, which meets the app's quality of service requirements, and sends it back to the application through Location Studio.

The structure for emergency services (e.g. 911 or E112) is a bit different. For an emergency call, the switch invokes Openwave Safety First. Safety First goes directly to Location Manager to get the location of the subscriber, then uses that information to figure out which Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) the call should be routed to and sends the phone number of the PSAP back to the switch.

Location and the Network
From an application developer's perspective, how location interacts with the network is a non-issue. To develop applications, developers can get started by using the Location Studio SDK. At that point, Location Manager and Location Studio handle the rest, including all of the SS7 network connections, the interfaces to switches and HLRs and determining what location methods are available.

Figure 1: Location Interacts with Network


The Future of Location
Location is evolving as an enabler of many data services. Location is often not the end service but is just the beginning -- for example -- a movie service application. Ideally subscribers would want to figure out what is playing, find out how to get to the theater and buy tickets. Location begins this series of transactions by allowing the application to figure out what theaters are closest to the subscriber. While is doesn't manage all the tasks the user can access, without it, the whole exchange simply couldn't happen.

Figure 2: Who's Using Location?

Figure 3: Location Application Categories

Home > Location Based Services

Location News

All Japanese Cellphones to Have GPS Function by 2007
MobiMap Location Based Services Now in South Africa
New service to locate children's mobile handset
Location services need low cost enablers - report
O2 UK launches Justfone's LBS 'Fonetrack'
Location-based service link-up
Nokia, Radiolinja trial WCDMA positioning
Orange to launch location based services across Europe
Location-based Services Misguided - study
Vodacom, SignalSoft, Compaq in wireless location-based services
CellGuides new location-fixing mobile phone add-on uses Sarantel antenna
Location Services May Defray Hefty Infrastructure Costs
IBM Delivers Location based Service
US Wireless Firms Choose Opt-In to Protect Privacy
SignalSoft awarded a location-based services patent
AirFlash/CellPoint Offer Integrated Location-Based Services
Benefon and CT Motion to deliver high accuracy location-based services
Motorola To Develop Wireless Vehicle Navigation
Mobile Location Services To Generate $20b by 2006

Location Technologies
Vendors implementing MPS technologies
Location Interoperability Forum (LIF)
Wireless Location Industry Association (WLIA)