VZW, AT&T prep for ubiquitous mobile location

AT&T also offers location-based services including Where from ULocate, GeoCache and a Wi-Fi Hot Spot Locator. All of the carrier's 3G phones going forward will have GPS built-in outside of required E911 compliance, which Soelberg said will open up the possibility for many new GPS-integrated services. In terms of what the possibilities are, she said there's no way to now where the end is, because the industry is still so close to the beginning.

"It's not just a point service, its enabling capabilities we can bring into a variety of services across our handsets," Soelberg said, adding that AT&T is working on a slew of new features that it cannot yet discuss.

ASSUAGING PRIVACY CONCERNS

With AT&T's announced service, all the major carriers offer some sort of family finding service, but none have taken the leap to a friend-finding service. Social networking companies like Loopt, Limbo and Whrrl fill this void with downloadable apps that tie LBS to social networks, but this is a ground carriers are treading softly in due to privacy perceptions with pervasive location awareness.

Both Beasley and Soelberg stressed that consumers have no reason to fear for their privacy. All instances of location tracking and app usage are in an opt-in basis. The user is in complete control over what companies or other mobile-phone users have has access to their location, Beasley said.

"The way our location-based services are implemented, it's using a user-plane architecture," Beasley said. "The subscriber has to download an application in order for that application to be able to get a location. Otherwise, we can only see if [their location] if they dial 911. If the user leaves it as E911 only, we can only get access if they call."

Verizon works closely with its legal and network security departments to ensure that it is protecting the user's privacy, particularly if that user is a child. AT&T also lets consumers choose their parameters on location tracking on their account. In no cases will AT&T give an advertiser the ability to track a consumer, Soelberg said. The carrier can ensure that anything marketed over its property adheres to CTIA privacy guidelines, although the same can't be said for over-the-top services consumers might download to their handset.

For any third party, the only information VZW hands off is what is needed to acquire the consumer's location. The vendor is then only allowed to access the location long enough to serve a specific request the user has. They cannot store the location unless it is absolutely necessary for the delivery of the service, Beasley said. For example, with VZW's Bones In Motion app, consumers want to see how long a certain route took them in previous weeks in order to track their progress. In that case, the app developer needs to store the location for accuracy, but not solely for informational purposes.

Before location can permeate all of the phone's apps and services, the carriers are first concerned with building a larger subscriber base for their most basic services. Beasley said VZW's biggest issue is that consumers aren't aware of VZ Navigator. The carrier has advertised it, but a lot of users don't even know their phone has the capability of giving them turn-by-turn directions, let alone the potential for location in other apps and services.

"Customer awareness is increasing, but it's still the biggest reason subscriber numbers aren't bigger than they are," he said.