Telecom Lead Europe: North American mobile location-based service (LBS) market is likely to grow at a CAGR of 9.2 percent from $835 million in 2012 to $1.295 billion in 2017, according to Berg Insight.
Mobile location-based service revenues in Europe are forecasted to grow from €325 million in 2012 at a CAGR of 20.5 percent to reach €825 million in 2017.
40 percent of all mobile subscribers in Europe use some kind of location-enhanced application on a regular basis.
In North America, the larger installed base of GPS-enabled handsets and smartphones has enabled higher uptake of LBS.
About 50 percent of all mobile subscribers in the region now access LBS at least monthly. Local search, social networking and navigation services are the top application categories in terms of number of active users. Mobile workforce management services that aim to improve operational efficiency for businesses are also gaining traction in new industry segments .
Smartphones is the most important enabler for LBS adoption in general. The installed base of smartphones in Europe has now reached 45 percent of total handsets and already surpassed 55 percent in North America.
André Malm, senior analyst, Berg Insight, says mobile operators still play a more central role in North America than in Europe, marketing branded services to both consumer and enterprise customers.
However, the operators’ central role in the LBS ecosystem is now being challenged by the smartphone ecosystems that bundle key LBS and give developers access to location data and distribution channels in the form of on-device app stores.
Mobile operators are therefore showing renewed interest in offering network-based bulk location data for advertising and analytics, as well as new services such as secure authentication and fraud management.
According to recent news reports, a number of copycat LBS start-ups have emerged in India, among other countries, over the last 12 months. ABI Research says the LBS market is largely concentrated in North America and Europe.
