Location-Based Services: Homing in on Viable Revenue Streams

Table of Contents

Summary

1. LBS should be regarded as service enhancements rather than a standalone service category

• 1.1 A-GPS and network-based technologies are likely to dominate the LBS market
• 1.2 LBS fall into three broad categories: user, monitoring and advertising services
• 1.3 Web 2.0 services may stimulate market development, but most LBS will be enhancements to MME services

2. The LBS market is evolving rapidly in terms of value chains and revenue sources

• 2.1 LBS aggregators and ‘open' software development platforms may ultimately result in margin reduction
• 2.2 GPS-enabled phones have clear potential to increasingly disintermediate MNOs from the value chain for LBS
• 2.3 Mobile operators will enjoy revenue opportunities regardless of how the LBS operating environment evolves
• 2.4 Location-based advertising will be a key revenue source, but it is not clear which market participants will reap the rewards
• 2.5 MNOs can also generate revenue from third-party users of location information, but will be restricted by privacy concerns

Actions

• Key to acronyms
• Research from Analysys Mason
• Consulting from Analysys Mason

List of Figures and Tables

• Table 0.1: A framework for LBS
• Figure 1.1: Location-fixing technologies
• Table 1.1: A framework for LBS
• Figure 2.1: Evolution of value chains for LBS
• Table 2.1: Implications of value chain models for LBS