|
|
| It’s all about location, location, location |
September 2, 2004 |
By Paul Lima
Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? If Sandiego, a popular cartoon character who has toured the world in a series of educational CD-ROMs since 1985, had a mobile phone equipped with Global Positioning System ( GPS) functionality, we could track her travels. And if Sandiego got lost, that same phone could pin down her location and supply directions to local restaurants, gas stations and tourist attractions.
These and related activities fall under the umbrella of location-based services (LBS), a category that was much ballyhooed in the late 1990s, but which has so far proved to be slow off the mark. But the sector is maturing and starting to deliver on its promise.
Next year, LBS will generate US$7 billion in revenue in North America and more than US$9 billion in Europe, according to strategy analysts. Those figures, however, include all LBS segments, such as public safety, mobile business process automation (tracking shipped items), telematics (tracking vehicles) and personalized mobile phone services such as navigational assistance and mobile advertising.
“Although market reality has yet to match the hype that has surrounded [LBS], IDC believes opportunities for mobile location services will emerge over the next few years,” said Keith Waryas, IDC’s wireless business network services research manager. LBS (and other non-voice services) are “critical to carriers’ success” as voice revenue begins to peak in North America and decline in Europe and Asia, he added.
As mobile phone use shifts from pure voice to non-voice applications, LBS presents an opportunity for carriers to reduce churn (customer turnover) and increase loyalty and revenue, Waryas said.
However, to reach profitable mass-market levels, carriers must pay attention to the issues of privacy and unsolicited advertising.
SPARSE FIELD TODAY
Almost every mobile handset sold today has built-in LBS functionality, and Bell Mobility has taken the lead in this space, said Adrian Vella, Bell Mobility’s associate director of location-based services, who added Bell Mobility made a “conscious decision” to turn up the heat on its competitors by jumping into the LBS market early.
For consumer-based LBS to grow in Canada, the other wireless carriers will have to jump on the bandwagon. Currently, Rogers Wireless, Telus Mobility and Fido have little to say. They may, however, be dragged into the fray because LBS scored exceptionally high marks in a recent IDC survey that measured consumer interest in wireless applications. Topping the LBS wish list were emergency location determination, traffic information and driving directions, and information on nearby businesses. Results like those led Frost & Sullivan to predict remarkable growth in the LBS subscriber base from 2004 to 2008.
Operators that fail to launch commercial LBS applications “are likely to suffer the consequences in the form of increased churn and ultimately significant revenue shortfalls,” the New York-based analyst firm concluded in a recent report. The magic behind many LBS services is a combination of Java applets and GPS. Bell Mobility’s Java MapMe, for instance, is a location-enabled progression of Bell Mobility’s MyFinder service. Java MapMe allows users to locate themselves and points of interest like hotels, restaurants and gas stations, on a map displayed on Java-enabled mobile phones such as the Sanyo SCP-8100.
Java MapMe knows where the user is and displays a map on the mobile phone. The user can zoom in and out, pan in all directions, display street names and points of interest. When the user scrolls over a cross-section of a particular destination like a restaurant, a dialog box appears. With the press of a button, the user can obtain directions, expected distance and time of travel to reach the destination, details about the restaurant, and can call the restaurant or send location information to other mobile phone users via text message.
Consumers who fear they will be inundated with Spam ads from companies that can track their location have little to fear, Vella said. “We see these services as value-added for our customers.” Subscribers will have to opt-in to an LBS service or request the location of a destination before any information is sent to them. For cellphone users who have car problems or are faced with emergencies, there are practical aspects to LBS.
Roadside assistance is an opt-in Bell Mobility service that combines cell-site location technology and assisted GPS to locate customers with more reliability than traditional GPS services. Using cell tower locations, the service can even find callers in areas where GPS line of sight cannot be established, such as underground parking garages. A Bell Mobility customer in need of assistance can dial #RESCUE (or #SECOURS en français) to speak to a customer service representative. The rep can then map the customer’s location and dispatch the necessary assistance.
In case of an emergency that requires police, fire or ambulance, enhanced 911 services allow emergency operators to see mobile callers’ phone numbers and pinpoint locations. However, the mobile carriers do not generate revenue offering e911 services and network upgrades have been slow to come. Currently, carriers can pass mobile phone numbers to emergency operators. In some situations, emergency operators can identify the general area (cell tower location) of some cellphone users. Later this year, Bell Mobility will test an assisted GPS e911 service in Toronto that will allow emergency operators to pinpoint wireless 911 callers to within 150 metres.
MORE DEVICES COMING
But what of the future? Bell Mobility is working with Burnaby, B.C.-based Sendum Corp. on a number of developments, including a “bottle-cap” sized GPS device. A parent will be able to slip the device into a child’s backpack and track the kid’s movements throughout the day. If a child is abducted, the police will be able to get a location quickly.
Of course, a husband claiming to be working late may not realize that a suspicious wife has embedded a bottle-cap GPS device in the heel of his shoe, and may be surprised when his spouse shows up at the motel room where he is not working late.
This raises the specter of privacy alluded to by IDC’s Waryas. There may not be any solution other than to check the heel of your shoe.
Unlike LBS services that Vella described as opt-in, a suspicious spouse is unlikely to seek permission to plant a GPS device. At the same time, consent today is not granted when one person in a relationship hires a private detective to spy on another person, so GPS technology, it seems, will simply cut out the middleman.
|
|
|
| Top 300 Issue |
 
|
| Gadget of the Week (Canadian) |
|
Boost your cell
ARC Wireless Freedom Blade
Mobile data and voice are great, as long as the signal is strong. And while mobile networks are pretty good these days, road warriors quickly discover that dead zones still exist.
more>>
|
| Gadget of the Week (Japanese) |
Sounds of Japan
Why record just the visual when you can capture the sounds as well.
more>> |
| Backblog RSS feed |
Click to subscribe  |
|
sponsored by 
