E-mail conversation with Velipekka Kuoppala, VP(Sales & Marketing), BlueSky Positioning…an LBS enabler

I have been member of an online group here by the name of Momo – Delhi. For some time there has been a discussion over a technology by the name of ” BlueSky Positioning http://www.blueskypositioning.com/ )” which if used by operators in their SIM cards, can make Location Based Services arena quiet an easy one, for telecom operators around the world. A number of people shared their views on this topic. Some of these are:

” This is a cool technology ..if anyone on this list works with Telecom companies, please forward this link to them,  if they consider to incorporate this technology in their SIM cards than it will open flood gate of LBS Services . Imagine a world where you can do a LBS App for Entry level Nokia Handset.  This is the SIM, Which can do it.”                                                                                                                              …Prashant

“I don’t get it. If the carriers put a little extra software into their towers to monitor signal strength of existing phones, they can know where phones are already. Why would an Indian telecom company want to re-deploy 70m SIM cards when their ARPU/ customer are already so low and getting lower?  Doesn’t a tower of central software solution make more sense to people?”                                                           …Sean

“This scheme of things have few advantages over Cell ID Triangulation:

#1 unlike Cell ID Triangulation  its independent of Network  Signal Strength at any given location [because its GPS assisted] so you can point location to a greater accuracy

#2 DUE To SIM + GPS combo I Think it  will be possible to  provide  location  info even when  you are roaming on other network .

#3 we did some tinkering around with Cell ID info and tried to map it with GPS Co-Ordinates on MY N95. accuracy /precision  was more in GPS mode but funny thing was how fast and randomly the Tower ID changed within a stretch of 2 KM on a HIGHWAY while GPS thing was more steady, so useful for feeding into a Trail kind of application.

Right now when we say LBS we think of only high end phones, this can change it.”                        …Prashant

One of the group members, contacted “Velipekka Kuoppala, Vice President Sales and Marketing of BlueSky Positioning” for the benefit of all of us. Here is a summary of an email conversation he had with Velipekka Kuoppala, Vice President Sales and Marketing of BlueSky Positioning. Some of the doubts about their  technology is cleared  in his replies.  He was kind enough to agree for posting this conversation on blogs and groups and also to answer another round of queries so if anybody wants to ask something specific please let us know.

So, here is the info straight from his mouth:

Does deploying your offering require physically changing/ replacing SIM Card or is it a SIM Tool Kit which can be pushed OTA?
Veli: SIM change is needed. It’s a hardware/ software solution. Afterwards different applications can be handled via OTA.

There was a rumour that it can be detected via GPS even when the Cellphone battery is off?
Veli: Off means off! That rumor is plain wrong.

What is the accuracy  of positioning (Error range ) ?
Veli: Like any other A-GPS technology. From few meters up to ~35meters.

How its better than Cell ID Triangulation?
Veli: The relevant point is: ROI for operators offering LBS will be directly proportional to the number of subscribers who can be located. To enjoy maximum return from location-enabled services, operators should logically select a technology, which is available to all wireless users and which provides the best price/ performance ratio. 

Just think on country side, where you have one base station each 10-20miles – triangulation does not give any needed accuracy for any kind of LBS applications on that kind of conditions. Emergency situations being the most important ones.

Mr. Graham Curry, Assistant Operations Manager for the Lancashire Ambulance Service, offers the emergency services’ perspective: “Over 50 percent of calls to the emergency services are now made via mobile phones, and current estimates suggest that over 1 million emergency callers across the EU are unable to indicate their location each year. In an emergency situation it is critical that we reach the person in distress as quickly as possible, and the ability to provide accurate location information via mobile phones could mean the difference between life and death.”
 
In city areas, some applications (there are hundreds of these) need even a few meter accuracy and some not – when needed, like with several tracking apps,  triangulation is not suitable for that. Cell ID itself is quick and good with its limitations, and is rather complementary than competing technology versus GPS. While starting talk about triangulation – we start as well to talk about additional cost.

Is this available for CDMA?
Veli: Each basestation has GPS receiver build in, and there are many GPS phones available under CDMA technology. Saying that, the business case in CDMA is not very strong.

The above conversation indeed gave some insights on this technology. However, we will have o keep our finders crossed until we see this technology being adopted by telecom companies. I strongly beileve however, that it may be added to the new SIM cards being developed but companies will not be able to do it for the ones already in use…

VS