Subject: [NEXTEL-1] LocatioNet targets 7 contracts by early 2004

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 22 May 2003 01:45:49 -0400

LocatioNet targets 7 contracts by early 2004
May 21, 2003 6:17pm

Wireless location based services (LBS) provider LocatioNet aims to have
around seven contracts with carriers and wireless applications service
providers in Latin America by early 2004, compared to two at present,
LocatioNet CEO Gadi BenMark told BNamericas.

The company signed its first major carrier contract in Latin America in
April with Mexico's Telcel, to provide its LBS middleware platform and
GIS engine for the deployment of location based services in Mexico.

BenMark said Telcel will offer both business and residential services
over the LocatioNet solution, with fleet management and automated
vehicle location services directed at the former, and mainly
security-oriented solutions at the latter. Telcel is first offering LBS
in the three main cities of Mexico, Guadalajara and Monterrey, but plans
to roll out the services nationally, he said, speaking from the Mobile
Americas 2003 conference in Miami, Florida.

The agreement with Telcel opens the door for future deals with other
companies in the America Movil group, but BenMark said negotiations with
carriers would almost invariably require intensive parent-level
communication.

After America Movil (NYSE: AMX), the region's mobile industry is
dominated by three multinationals: Spain's Telefonica Moviles (NYSE:
TEM), Telecom Italia Mobile, and US-based BellSouth (NYSE: BLS), while
trunking operator NII Holdings (Nasdaq: NIHD) is a key player in the
corporate segment.

The Telcel contract, operating over a nationwide GSM/GPRS network in
Mexico, is evidence that LBS can be attractive to GSM operators. But
BenMark said CDMA and iDEN technologies are far better equipped to
support LBS at present. Telcel's LBS clients will use the company's
mobile network for their services, but have to use a separate, data-only
device for LBS, he said.

GSM is the less attractive technology for LBS simply because the world's
most widely deployed assisted global positioning system (A-GPS) service
for mobile handsets is the proprietary technology of CDMA chipset
developer Qualcomm (Nasdaq:
QCOM), which commercializes its location services via subsidiary
SnapTrack. Meanwhile, New Jersey-based Global Locate develops iDEN LBS
devices.

Qualcomm actually completed A-GPS position location calls over
commercial GSM wireless systems in December 2002, using test mobiles
that integrated its MGP6200 chip and wireless modem for GSM/GPRS
networks. But BenMark said equivalent GSM services would remain far more
expensive for the time being. Technological parity will come only within
18-36 months, he estimated.

Overall, the LBS market's growth is "slow, but steady," he said, adding
that mass-market uptake is expected to begin next year. Demand should be
strong in Latin America, as companies in the region have largely gone
without LBS to date, in contrast to large corporations in North America
and Europe, which have developed solutions using less cost-efficient
two-way satellite technology. "This is not the case in Latin America;
the market is totally underserved," he said.
BenMark also sees demand as being stronger in countries where security
concerns are greater; for example, Brazilian and Mexican customers are
expected to be very attracted to LBS.

Nevertheless, uptake still hinges on precision, which he identified as
occupying the "top end of the value chain" in the industry.  "We are
still waiting for precision GPS devices," he said, adding, "Without
this, everything else has to wait." Aside from precision, BenMark said
the company's experience in Europe has shown that takeoff will also
require having devices that can display maps in color, much as is the
case with Web-based content.

LocatioNet also has a client relationship in Latin America with the
Brazilian operations of global fleet management and security solutions
company Ituran. LocatioNet's Latin American operations are managed from
its office in Sao Paulo, in place since January of this year.

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From: "Steve S. Bosshard" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 22 May 2003 08:06:07 -0500

Ya'll have fun.

cul,

steve

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: [email-masked] 
  To: [email-masked] 
  Sent: Thursday, May 22, 2003 12:45 AM
  Subject: [NEXTEL-1] LocatioNet targets 7 contracts by early 2004

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