A multi-billion dollar opportunity is still available for North American wireless carriers in the consumer location-based services (LBS) market, despite the rapid changes in the market, which is affected by smartphone application storefronts and free off-deck solutions, according to a Frost & Sullivan analysis.
Wireless carrier-generated segment of the North American consumer location-based services (LBS) market totaled to available application software revenues of approximately $718m in 2009 and expected to grow by $1.58bn in 2015, according to the analysis.
The analysis, 2010 North American Consumer Location-based Services Market – The Wireless Carrier Opportunity, said wireless carriers must become more creative and aggressive in leveraging their unique assets if they want to successfully carve out and keep a significant portion of this sector’s potential revenue.
The consumer LBS market is driven by powerful technology and greater customer awareness, which provide even more opportunities for carriers to partner with top-tier application developers and create, launch, and promote new LBS offerings.
Jeanine Sterling, senior industry analyst of Frost & Sullivan, said: "In tandem with smartphone advances, carriers are making their networks and locationing capability more accessible to LBS application developers.
"Partnerships with location aggregators, open application programming interface (API) platforms, and simpler, quicker certification reviews make it easier for LBS developers to stake a claim to the market."
The report further added that strong marketing sensibility should be brought by wireless carriers to the consumer LBS sector.
Mr Sterling said that some LBS offerings, such as the kid finder services are just an automatic and perfect fit; other applications and capabilities may not be as obvious.
Frost & Sullivan said that to grow in this market, carriers have to be real marketers monitoring customer needs, identifying product voids, working with creative partners, and publicising the distinct benefits that carriers bring to today’s mobile user.
