Location based services: where it's at: GSM vendors see E-OTD as the next step in developing location-based services, but other developments are raising the bar on accuracy. (Wireless Tech).

Wireless Asia, November, 2002 by Tanner, John C.

When it comes to value-added services for mobile operators to differentiate themselves from their rivals, the business case for location-based services (LBS) seems like a no-brainer. After all, if the business of mobile is mobility, then offering services that take the handset's location into account is one of the best opportunities going for cellcos to capitalize on the untethered nature of the business.

Of course, the level of opportunity has a lot to do with the level of accuracy the operator can provide. Cell ID, for example, can narrow location down to within range of a particular sector of a particular cell site, though calculating the distance from the base station (which could be anywhere between a hundred meters and 35 km, depending on how big the...

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