Mobile technology location based services

 

Mobile technology location based services

 

Location based service composes of entertainment and information services that can be accessible by mobile devices and a mobile network. Location based services can be used to identify a person wherein one can look for the nearest banking cash machine or looking for someone else. Location based services can also be used to track parcel and vehicles. Location based services can use mobile commerce. Moreover location based services can give weather services and some games. Location based services can be used to turn by turn navigation to any address; locate people on a map displayed on the mobile phone; location-based mobile advertising.  The immediate potential of location-based services (LBS) is more obvious than that of 3G technologies, since it is not just an incremental increase in speed but also a completely new functionality. In addition, organizations such as the is mandating LBS in the United States for locating distress calls, so the implementation of location technologies is much more imminent. Location-based technology, one of the fastest growing areas of the wireless communication industry, is an integral part of the future value proposition of mobile communication (Sadeh 2002).

 

The market is already estimated at nearly 0 million and is forecast to approach billion within three years. Some of the world’s largest wireless carriers, such as Verizon Wireless, Vodafone of Great Britain, and NTT DoCoMo of Japan, are promoting this technology along with dozens of other smaller companies in the United States and Europe. SignalSoft Corporation, based in Boulder, Colorado, develops software that enables tourists or business travelers to use their wireless phones to obtain location information for the closest restaurants or hotels in a given city. Cell-Loc Inc., in Canada, is already testing a wireless service in Calgary and in Austin, Texas, that delivers detailed driving directions after pinpointing the user. Some companies are even more ambitious (Gulati, Paoni & Sawhne 2003).Webraska, a French company, received million in financing from the United States and Europe to map every urban area in the world and then allow the maps to be retrieved in real time on wireless devices. Times three provides location content to Internet portals to make their services location sensitive, using Cell-Loc technology to implement fleet and traffic monitoring, child and pet tracking, and location-sensitive billing (Kellerman 2002) Proponents of the technology point out that LBS will enrich the mobile experience and provide consumers with cost-effective solutions that have previously been unavailable. Because location is a key element in delivering a personalized experience to each customer, LBS will be a strong factor in determining which and what type of services and goods the consumer desires most and therefore is likely to purchase and use. It will also enrich the applications of the wireless network. For example, a device that constantly updates the directions to a destination on the basis of the user’s current location is much more desirable than a static map. Further, it will help people control and initiate their social relationships more easily. Users can quickly identify and locate family, friends, and colleagues using geographic buddy lists and tracking functions. But the howl of privacy advocates continues to ring in the ears of many technology developers (Luftman 2003).

 

Regarded by many as the crux of LBS, the detail of the technology naturally invites discussion on privacy and security. Because the LBS technology is pervasive, the successful resolution of the significant privacy concerns is paramount to many of the proposed business models. The promise of the wireless-location industry requires a solid infrastructure that will provide accurate geographic coordinates of wireless devices, and it needs to be developed and deployed wherever LBS will be delivered. It is difficult to say who will develop it and which companies and technologies will triumph because neither the technology nor the standards have been determined. In North America, only beta-networks have been deployed so far. However, the companies that are competing in this space have very different business models, which can be separated into carrier and third-party strategies (Aakhus & Katz 2002). Location-based services do have potential downsides. Ironically, the same mandate that is intended to increase public safety also causes its own privacy and security concerns. Although there is great demand for LBS and interested consumers are primarily seeking safety and security, there is also an inherent paranoia and fear of misuse of the location information. In emergency situations, privacy is not an issue; however, consumers are extremely worried about the privacy and security implications in nonemergency situations. They are most concerned about privacy issues and of being tracked without knowing it, and banner-ad invasion. Before people jump to the conclusion that it is a great boon to be able to locate someone anytime the person is using wireless technology, businesses have to thoroughly address and adequately resolve the mounting security and privacy issues. Additionally, for LBS succeed, mobile operators will have to persuade potential customers that such services will add significant value to their lives. If the privacy and security issues are not properly addressed, fear of privacy issues and the constant banner ad will prevail: Consumers will consider LBS to be a benefit only in emergency situations (Garsten & Wulff 2003).

Reference

Aakhus, MA & Katz, JE (eds.) 2002, Perpetual contact: Mobile

communication, Private talk, public performance, Cambridge

University Press, Cambridge, England.

 

Garsten, C & Wulff, H (eds.) 2003, New technologies at work:

People, screens, and social virtuality, Berg, New York.

 

Gulati, R, Paoni, A & Sawhney, M 2003, Kellogg on technology &

innovation, Wiley, Hoboken, NJ.

 

Luftman, JN (eds.) 2003, Competing in the information age: Align

in the sand, Oxford University Press, New York. 

 

Kellerman, A 2002, The internet on earth: A geography of

information, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, England.

 

Sadeh, N 2002, M-commerce: Technologies, services, and business

models, John Wiley & Sons, New York.

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