The market for LBS platforms and middleware in Europe will return to growth in the coming years, with demand driven by E112 (the location-enhanced version of the EU/mobile 112 emergency call number) and lawful intercept requirements, as well as increasing adoption of Assisted-GPS (A-GPS).
So says the wireless analyst firm, Berg Insight, in a new report, which notes that annual revenues in Europe for mobile location platforms, including A-GPS servers and middleware platforms, are projected to grow from about €18m (£14.9m) in 2009, to €35m in 2015.
“Location-based services are finally on the verge of mainstream acceptance, enabled by broader adoption of GPS-enabled smartphones,” says André Malm, senior analyst at Berg Insight. “Mobile operators are now gradually responding by investing in location platforms and new technologies. A-GPS servers and hybrid technologies will become very important as the installed base of GPS-enabled handsets is projected to surpass 400m devices in 2014.”
The report notes that in addition to supporting commercial services, mobile operators also face increasingly strict requirements for emergency call location and lawful intercept. Improved emergency call and lawful intercept capabilities typically entail accurate location of any handset deployed and therefore require installation of network-based location technologies.
There’s more information about the report here.