LOC-AID Surpasses 120 Million Subscriber Mark for Location Aggregation, Brings Scale to Location-Based Services DeliveryNew Agreements with North American Carriers Set Stage for Next Wave of LBS Development and Deployment
Boca Raton, FL – March 30, 2009 – LOC-AID Technologies, Inc., the leader in end-to-end Location Aggregation, today announced the commercial availability of LBS aggregation services on a Tier 1 U.S. carrier and Telcel, the largest Latin American carrier. LOC-AID is the only Location Aggregation provider with inter-carrier, inter-technology (GSM, CDMA, UMTS) and inter-country capabilities available now.
The new agreements enable the carriers to monetize location data resident on their networks across their entire customer bases, independent of handset type, application, or location methodology. This innovative approach creates a simplified and user-friendly location platform for developers and enterprises (see separate press release announced today). The new carrier agreements, combined with LOC-AID’s existing relationships, extend LOC-AID’s Location Aggregation reach to an unmatched 120 million subscribers, advancing the company’s vision of becoming the one-stop shop for location information.
“Unlocking the value of location for carriers, developers and end-users depends on a broad approach to Location Aggregation that is network-based, not handset or application centric,” said Isaias Sudit, CEO of LOC-AID. “LOC-AID is the only LBS provider that can deliver this today, and our growing traction with U.S. and North American carriers and developers validates our approach.”
Location Aggregation Clarified
To date, much of the wireless industry’s location aggregation discussion has focused on small breakthroughs made for specific devices or platforms iPhone/Gphone or for on-boarding certain applications as part of carrier “on-deck” LBS initiatives. While each of these developments incrementally advances the LBS experience, they obscure the larger Location Aggregation challenge: providing easy access to subscriber location data across all major carriers and any type of technology, handset or device, not just those that are GPS-enabled.
LOC-AID is the first and only Location Aggregation company to provide this all-encompassing access to location information. The LOC-AID Aggregation platform standardizes the presentation of location data from any carrier network (each carrier’s location infrastructure is unique) as an easy to use set of APIs, ensuring location information can be obtained and applications used across carriers. This enables LOC-AID to effectively “wholesale” location information in a highly-organized, precise and secure manner an industry first.
Today’s deals with Telcel and a U.S. Tier 1 carrier mark the fourth and fifth major carrier to sign on with LOC-AID in the last 6 months, giving developers access to the location assets of over 120 million subscribers. The other carriers include Bell Canada and TELUS in Canada, and Telefonica-Movistar in Latin America, with additional Tier 1 U.S. carriers due to contract with LOC-AID in 2009.
“Telematics Update continues to see location-based services as a major growth market and vital competitive battleground, one that will drive ARPU and innovation, while ultimately shaping the end-user mobile experience,” said Thomas Hallauer, MD, Telematics Update and organizer of the MetaPlaces09 event. “Yet without location aggregation, there is no way to scale location-based services to every mobile subscriber in the US. That is why LOC-AID’s approach is so important: its network-based, inter-carrier solution for location aggregation provides carriers and developers a clear path to delivering LBS to the maximum pool of users.”
The LOC-AID Location platform emulates the proven business model of messaging aggregation, which helped issue in a new era in wireless data use, application development, and carrier revenue enhancement. Location aggregation is poised to open up the location market just as messaging aggregation expedited the standardization and interoperability of messaging in North America. Industry analyst firm ABI projects the LBS market will reach $13.3 billion by 2013, up from $515 million in 2007.
About LOC-AID Technologies
LOC-AID Technologies Inc. is an award-winning, privately-owned company backed by Tier 1 venture firms, that specializes in Location Aggregation platforms and customized wireless mobile-data solutions. The company’s technology integrates wireless location information into any service or application, making it easier to deliver location into any development environment and help optimize and monetize LBS revenue. LOC-AID is headquartered in Boca Raton, FL. For more information visit www.loc-aid.net.
LOC-AID is a registered trademark of LOC-AID Technologies Inc.