Here I am

Location-based apps is the next big thing,
says Ruchi Hajela

Imagine this scenario. You are working in office and there is a power failure. You decide to make use of the golden opportunity by catching up with your friends. To set this rolling, you go to the Buddy Finder service on you handset and click on the Search Friend option. Within seconds, you know about the friends who are in the vicinity. You send real time Instant Messages to them and fix up a meeting. You also prompt your device to locate the nearest Pizza Hut via SMS and voila, you get a list on your phone. Sounds cool, doesn't it?

What if you also want to plot the route from your office to that Pizza Hut outlet? The same app gets you a map on your handset. On reaching there, you discover that your friend hasn't arrived; you summon the app again and within seconds you know your friend's location.

The future at our doorstep
All this is not a remote possibility. If the progression rate of technology is anything to swear by, the same and much more would be your common pastime in a few days from now. The North, East and South zone BSNL users would soon have the above mentioned and many more personalized location based content on their mobile phones. Telenity a next generation services and application provider company, has provided BSNL with a location-enabling server that would allow the operator to offer location-based services (LBS) to its mobile subscribers. Unlike global positioning systems that operate via satellites and are extremely expensive in India, LBS would operate on BSNL's GSM network, which means you won't have to shell money on expensive handhelds.

Cracking the code
This service would work on the triangulation method of locating GSM handsets. You must have come across Base Station Terminals (BSTs) that emanate cellular signals. Cellphone catch signals from the closest BST; hence, any change in location is broadcasted on your cellphone screen. But this approximation isn't always correct as each BST sends out signals up to a radius of 3 kilometre. However, location-based apps go a step further. “The triangulation method takes into account the signals received from three cell sites. The point where the radii of the three cell sites meet decides the approximate position of a cellphone,” explains Ashwani Vachher, Vice President – sales and general manager – Asia Pacific, Telenity. “Though the triangulation method gives the location of a particular subscriber, there still could be a variation of up 50-200 metres,” adds Vachher.

At your service
Apart from the people finder and navigation services mentioned above, tracking, community networking and push-based marketing services will also be available. While the push marketing services would tell you about the movie running in the nearest theatre, the tracking service would allow you to locate your distracted boyfriend. And, you need no worry about invading somebody's privacy because the person who is being tracked would be notified about the people who tracked him/her. For the enterprise segment, there is a fleet management solution that would allow employer to monitor the exact location of their vehicles in real time.

“We can currently implement navigational services on our network. The same are in testing stages at present,” says S Krishnan, general manager, mobile services, BSNL South zone. “A billing server would be in place though we still have to work out pricing for LBS,” adds Krishnan.

Whether LBS find a way with people is something which is yet to be seen in the coming days. For now, the initiation seems satisfying, the possibilities are endless.