Location-Based Services - Addressing the New Location Accuracy Gap

By Frost & Sullivan

(While Improving Subscriber Stickiness and Increasing A.R.P.U.)

The U.S. Federal Government has mandated automatic location identification for cell phones so that 911 dialers can be quickly found by emergency responders. Fortunately, the billions of dollars required to implement this mandate can be leveraged by U.S. carriers to produce commercial Location-Based Services (LBS). LBS promise a lucrative revenue stream. It also presents carriers with a means of competitive differentiation and a way to build customer stickiness in an often fickle mobile subscriber environment.

However, before operators can begin counting their LBS dollars, they have to choose the right location determination technology – and the precision of these individual technologies can vary dramatically. Accuracy counts. High-accuracy location technologies can immediately demonstrate the value-add and relevance of LBS solutions to the end-user. A high-accuracy location capability also immediately widens the portfolio of potential LBS applications and carrier revenue opportunities. Implemented correctly, LBS should also reduce subscriber churn. However — whether it's driving directions, mobile worker tracking, or kid-finder – subscribers can quickly become disenchanted with low-precision service.

And here – at the very first step of E911/LBS technology decision-making — is where hype may be getting in the way of sound choices.

The U.S.-based GSM carriers crashed on the rocks when they initially chose EOTD (Enhanced Observed Time Difference) technology and then realized it could not meet FCC E911 Phase II accuracy standards. Today, the rush to an A-GPS architecture also presents accuracy risks – and may reflect a large amount of wishful thinking regarding U.S. customer migration to A-GPS handsets. Frost & Sullivan believes that Santa Clara based Polaris Wireless – and its Wireless Location Signatures technology – has cracked the code on providing a highly accurate and "migratable" location determination solution for carriers.