ABSTRACT
In the emerging m-commerce economy, the knowledge of the position of a given service subscriber making a call is gaining particular interest among mobile operators who can, in turn, provide innovative LBS, typically with the assistance of third parties such as service or content providers (see Barnes, 2002). Such ideas are not new. Location (l-) commerce has existed in a limited form for more than 20 years. The pioneers of LBS were basic tracking services and Automated Vehicle Location (AVL). In 2000, more than 100 companies were providing AVL products and services in the United States alone (Airbiquity, 2000a). However, until recently, the specialized location-based industry survived as a niche market to both high-end businesses (such as trucking and freight) and well-to-do customers (via automobiles such as Lexus and BMW). Typically, high-priced devices required subscriptions to special location services, suppressing demand (Frost and Sullivan, 2003).
