14.6 Location Services


Location services are expected to be yet another new class of value-added services that are used to some extent in current cellular systems. 3G cellular networks, especially , will make the location services a powerful concept for operators and application service providers by combining the knowledge of a subscriber's up-to-date position being available via the mobile device. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated that wireless networks provide the capability to track a user 's location within 50 to 100 meters in most cases. This service is termed E911. While this is a specific example of location being used for emergency services, the applicability of location information is vast. According to research studies, location sensitive services to wireless mobile users are expected to achieve a penetration of about 30% in five years .

Location information can be used to target advertisements and local information. Currently on the Internet, users have to specify a certain area of zip code in order to obtain information about the surrounding businesses. However, in the case of mobile networks, the network is already aware of the geographical position of users at any time. Various geographical location technologies are used such as GPS (global positioning system), observed time difference (OTD), and triangulation, to estimate the location of a user or device. The location information can be applied to other applications, such as driving directions or local weather. An example of using location information would be a service that provides driving directions to a user. An application server in the network may be aware of traffic conditions on the route that would be optimal for a user who has requested such information. The application server in such a scenario could provide alternate route information as well as information about traffic conditions.

Location information can also be vital to fleet management, thereby creating a more efficient operational system. A call to the taxi Web site can tailor content for subscribers based on the information that is obtained from the application servers in the network. Such specialized services add value to the mobile Internet that is not possible with the traditional way things have been done in the Internet.

Location interoperability between vendors was started as a forum by Nokia, Ericsson, and Motorola. The work of this forum is now continued under the auspices of Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). Details of OMA are provided in Chapter 16.

Location services offer yet another revenue stream for operators and content providers. However, location tracking also raises some privacy issues. It should be possible for users themselves to control and manage access to location tracking information to some extent. Law enforcement agencies can also obtain access to this information, and this is a requirement in most countries around the world.



IP in Wireless Networks
IP in Wireless Networks
ISBN: 0130666483
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 164

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