The Future of Location-Based Services

Sunday April 01st 2007, 1:20 pm Filed under: Ubiquity

The issue of location-based services is a classic example of technology and society interacting with one another. The technology certainly has the potential to benefit society, which is one of the reasons why so many developers have looked toward these services as the wave of the future. However, numerous problems have plagued the development of LBS, and this post will look at two of the most prevalent ones.

Conceptually speaking, one of the biggest problems is that LBS are often marketed as being global or possessing the ability to transcend cultures. The issue of privacy is constantly raised when discussing LBS, which becomes a problem because different cultures view this issue differently. France, for example, guarantees privacy (albeity implicitly) in its constitution, while Britain doesn’t appear to take the issue as seriously, as seen with the millions of security cameras littered throughout the country. Even though privacy is not a constitutionally guaranteed right in the United States, most Americans place great emphasis on protecting their privacy. As a result, these cultures form different opinions about LBS. A recent study found that there is a high demand for LBS in Japan, as privacy is not something the people are accustomed to, and there are very little street names or addresses. Meanwhile, demand is lower in the United States, partly because privacy is a bigger concern, and partly because developers don’t want to deal with the costs of complying with the Enhanced 911 mandate. If the goal of LBS is ubiquity, it will never be reached so long as different cultures have such markedly different reactions to the technology.
On the technical side, another problem is that geographic coordinates are highly inefficient, and are of almost no value to the end user. To access these services, consumers are often forced to input a long string of characters, some of which aren’t even available on the typical cell phone keypad. On the receiving end, this makes it difficult to develop an algorithm that can handle all of the inputs. A new language, called the Natural Area Coding System is being developed to help overcome these problems. Ostensibly speaking, the results haven’t changed much. For one, it’s difficult to inform the entire public about the technology, and even if this was possible, it would be even harder to teach everyone the new coding system. Many experts believe that it will take a telecommunications giant to help make this a reality. However, a recent report suggests that developers and carriers of location-based services will be lucky to break even on their investments for at least another decade. Will the telecommunication giants be willing to invest in a project that won’t result in a positive cash flow for at least ten years? Even though these companies presumably have the resources to absorb such a long-term loss, the primary goal is always to make money and maximize shareholder value. Considering the social aspects that will inevitably play an enormous factor if LBS manages to get off the ground, these companies will have to take a tremendous leap of faith to continue with their investments. If the Natural Area Coding System is the future of LBS, and the industry giants are the future for the coding system, it appears that LBS might be headed for obscurity rather than ubiquity.