Location-Based Services: The State of the Art

The convergence of the Internet and wireless telecommunications has opened the way for a plethora of data services for the mobile handset user. One potential area of mobile (m-) commerce development is in location-based services (LBS). Using a range of positioning techniques, operators can offer entirely new services and improvements on current ones. Popular examples cited include emergency caller location, asset tracking, navigation, location-based information or geographically sensitive billing. This paper examines the technologies, applications and strategic issues associated with the commercialization of LBS. The paper concludes with some predictions on the role of LBS in m-commerce.