Cell Service Seeks Subs
ACONSORTIUM of information services and positioning system providers are working to find a home for their wireless applications.
Subscribers who decide to use the group’s technology would have easy access to the locations of retail stores that offer wireless products and would receive ads geared to those stores. Eventually, the service will provide targeted messages based on cell-phone callers’ whereabouts.
The technology links offerings from several providers. SignalSoft Corp. of Boulder, CO uses location-finding technology based on cell/sector methodologies rather than on global positioning systems (GPS), which are not as readily available through cell phones or other wireless devices.
Once the service is implemented, subscribers will be able to request information, such as where to find the nearest restaurants or dry cleaners, through either dial-in voice menus or text on the screen of their handheld device. The information network, based on the content’s level of sophistication, can provide directions, reviews and a list of special offerings.
SignalSoft has teamed with wireless software provider Phone.com of Redwood City, CA to develop the technology supporting the applications.
Marketing partners include Amazon.com, which is contributing mobile commerce and fulfillment capabilities. DoubleClick will chip in with its ad network and targeting services.
Online content firms In-Fusio and Go2Systems are slated to offer location-based games and community and content applications, respectively.
The system now allows for positioning within a 300-foot range. However, SignalSoft’s vice president of marketing Eric McCabe believes the next generation of positioning technology will allow customer pinpointing to within 150 or even 75 feet within a year or so. This feature will come into play as mobile phones incorporate GPS capabilities.
Under the “pull” marketing scenario, which will probably be the first to gain widespread consumer acceptance, a user dials into the network with a request, such as the location of the nearest Chinese restaurants. The system identifies the customer’s location, unlike those platforms that require him to enter a ZIP code.
In time, subscribers may choose to have ads from nearby brick-and-mortar establishments “pushed” at them on an opt-in basis, based on their preferences and proximity to relevant retailers.
“People are just starting to figure out the privacy issues. Before we start trying to send out directed ads, we need to figure out their comfort level,” says McCabe.
The problem is that so far – in the United States, at least – wireless carriers have not jumped at the chance to offer these applications.
The service has taken root only in Switzerland, where it’s used to keep up with conditions at ski resorts. U.S. carriers are considering it, but thus far none of them has chosen to make it available to subscribers.
Once picked up by a wireless carrier such as AT&T Wireless, Sprint or Verizon, content from the service would initially be available in the 50 most populous cities in the United States.
