GEO Location
Welcome to our presentation on GEO Location enabled technologies presentation
This presentation is brought to you by:
Brian Burke
Betsy Hillery
Kevin Jones
Aimee Kappas
Abhinav Mehta
A GEO location starts with a few definitions:
GPS - Originally designed for military and intelligence applications at the height of the Cold War in the 1960s, with inspiration coming from the launch of the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik in 1957, the global positioning system (GPS) - is a network of satellites that orbit the earth at fixed points above the planet and beam down signals to anyone on earth with a GPS receiver. These signals carry a time code and geographical data point that allows the user to pinpoint their exact position, speed and time anywhere on the planet.
Geolocation refers to the process of determining the location of a computer, a piece of networking equipment or a device. It usually uses Global Position Satellites (GPS) in order to determine the geographical location of the computer or device. GPS is built into most smartphones, and there are many apps taking advantage of geolocation to provide location specific information and services to their customers. While GPS is the most common method of using geolocation, there are other methods as well, such as using IP (Internet Protocol) Addresses, MAC (media access control) address and RF (Radio Frequency) signals.
Geolocation usually works by automatically looking up an Internet Protocol (IP) address on a WHOIS service and retrieving the registrant's physical address. The (IP) address location data typically includes information such as country, region, city, postal/zip code, latitude, longitude and time zone. Once I have this, I have geolocated you.
One of the most common uses for geolocation is in the area of social networking and location sharing. Applications such as Foursquare and Gowalla allow users to share location specific information and to make suggestions on nearby attractions, restaurants and places of interest. Social networking applications are starting to become very common, and more applications are using geolocation to provide up-to-the-minute, location-specific information to their users. Most of these geolocation-specific social applciations, such as Brightkite and Loopt, also allow you to link to your Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. With geolocation becoming so popular, finding your friends has become easier than ever. Of course, this is based on whether your friends want to be found or not, as security limitations require the user to give express permission to share their location.
Another use of geolocation is through IP tracking. Many websites use the geolocation API (Application Programmers Interface) to track user’s general location and display location specific data based on that information. While the IP address does not give as specific a location as GPS, used in conjunction with other technologies, it is a fairly reliable method of providing location specific information. Geolocation can also be used for analytical purposes, to get a good geographical representation of the places from where users are logging into websites or other services. With the W3C (World Wide Consortium) Geolocation API Specifications, the scope and usage of geolocation information and security and privacy measures involved are clearly spelled out. When accessing geolocation specific information, it is the responsibility of the host (from which the API is being run) to get permission to access this information from the end user. This is to ensure users retain their privacy and security by allowing them to decide what information they are willing to release to the site.
While today Geolocation is still in its very early stages of adoption in technologies, the potential for geolocation is quite hard to overlook. As our smartphones become more and more embedded in society, GPS tracking will become the norm and tracking employees, clients and potential customers will become more common in the years to come.
History
In May 2000, at the direction of President Bill Clinton, the U.S government discontinued its use of Selective Availability in order to make GPS more responsive to civil and commercial users worldwide.
Advantages – Positive Externality
- Once an invention is discovered or made more easily accessible, others benefit by exploring the invention or information.
The following are considered positive externalities:
- Air Traffic Control has the ability to locate planes easily
- Lost people know where you are
- Find relevant local news and weather
- Find friends around you
- Advertising for businesses
- Finding restaurants, stores, and other places that fit your interests
- Finding Directions
- Games and fun
The following are considered negative externalities:
- Easier for stalkers and murderers to find targets
- Informs robbers when you are not home
- Even more advertising with your face
- Makes you more vulnerable for identity theft
Network Externality – Each user of a product increased the value of the same product owned by others.
The following companies/technologies that have introduced Geo-location technology:
Google Maps
- Yahoo Maps
- Bing Maps
- WikiMapia
- NokiaMaps
- Apple Maps
- Open Source Contributors
- Open Street Maps
Value Chain – GEO Services
This value chain is used to analyse the impact of the Geo services sector in the framework described in section 3 (also referred to as the ‘Geo-ecosystem’). More specifically, when assessing the direct and indirect effects of Geo, Oxera has identified companies that either directly produce Geo infrastructure or services (direct impact), and those whose business model is, to a significant extent, reliant on Geo services. The Geo services value chain encompasses a wide range of firms with a variety of business models.
Broadly, a distinction can be made between infrastructure providers, applications (apps)/service providers, and the distribution of products.11 Indeed, while the satellite geo-spatial services were originally developed for military services, the industry has been spreading rapidly to consumers and businesses, and there are an increasing number of software developers offering location-based services (LBS) to consumers. With the growing number of LBS products aimed at consumers, the distribution segment is becoming more varied, and includes a variety of retail outlets, both physical and online.
The industry is characterised by an increasing number of horizontal and vertical links between companies, and the outputs from some companies are inputs into others. Given the layers in the value chain, the economic impact calculation should not, in principle, ‘double-count’ the revenues of all interim players in the supply chain. Figure 2.1 above groups the market players included in Oxera’s analysis into three main categories, each of which is described below.
Signal Provision Industry:
Geo-spatial LBS rely on satellite infrastructure and, therefore, on the manufacturers of satellites, producers of necessary components, signal augmenter operators and satellite operators. Some of the satellites are state-owned, while others are owned and operated by private companies. The manufacturing of satellites involves private companies as well as state initiatives and often government-led R&D programmes. Furthermore, satellites are manufactured and used for a variety of purposes. The satellite manufacturers that are relevant for Oxera’s analysis are those producing ‘earth observation satellites’—ie, satellites with capabilities to provide geo-spatial services.
There are four main satellite navigation systems on which the satellites operate, two of which are defined as global navigation satellite systems (GNSS); namely, the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Russian Glonass system. Other emerging (but not global) navigation systems are the EU-led Galileo and Compass. The companies identified in Oxera’s analysis of the direct effects of Geo services are manufacturers of satellites (in particular, satellites used for mapping services) and producers of supplementary components for signal provision. All technologies (GPS, Compass, Galileo) are included in the analysis.
Geographic Information System:
A geographic information system (GIS) is an umbrella concept for hardware, software and data for managing and analysing geographically referenced information.12 Put simply, GIS uses the inputs produced by signal providers to interpret and visualise geographical data in many ways that reveal relationships and patterns.
A number of organisations are active in this part of the value chain.
– Surveyors (and manufacturers of survey equipment) and providers of hard copies of maps and aerial photos. These organisations produce the base map data which is then used by software developers and address compilers, among others.
– Compilers that aggregate information such as addresses and base map data.
– In addition to software and apps, there is a large and growing market for GIS devices. This category encompasses producers of navigation devices (eg, TomTom, Garmin), and of multifunctional devices, such as mobile phone manufacturers. As explained below, only a fraction of revenue of the latter group is attributable to Geo.
– The distribution layer of the GIS supply chain includes all online and physical retailers of devices and software.
Satellite Images Industry:
The remaining firms in the Geo value chain are producers of satellite imagery services and other support services. These companies provide geo-spatial data based on satellite images for a variety of purposes, such as mapping and delivery services supporting the logistics and
Economic Impact of GEO Services
People are increasingly accessing and use geographic mapping and location-based services (‘Geo services’). In t five largest European economies, 50% of Internet users access maps online and 35% of smartphone users do so on their handsets.1 In addition to this regular us of Geo services, a whole range of systems has been, and is being, designed to put Geo services to use in innovative ways.
Geo services sector generates $150-$270 billion of revenue globally.
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