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| Location
Based Service |
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A location-based service (or LBS) in a cellular
telephone network is a service provided to the subscriber based on her
current geographic location. This position can be known by user entry or
a GPS receiver that she carries with her, but most often the term
implies the use of a function built into the cell network that uses
triangulation between the known geographic coordinates of the base
stations through which the communication takes place. One implication is
that knowledge of the coordinates is owned and controlled by the network
operator, and not by the end user herself.
Examples of location based
services might include finding the closest Italian restaurant. The
ability of the restaurant to send an invitation to bypassers has also
been mentioned, even though this might be regarded as unsolicited
commercial email or spamming.
These services were launched in the late 1990s, and the development in
this area seems (as of 2004) to be driven more by technical ability than
by user need.
Linked technology also allows someone to identify the location of a
mobile phone user to within a few yards or metres. This is especially
useful when dialing an emergency telephone number, such as enhanced
9-1-1 in North America, so that the operator can dispatch emergency
police or firefighting services to the correct location. In the U.S. the
FCC requires all new phones have this capability, and that the user be
able to easily turn it off for all non-emergency uses.
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