LBS finds Indian taker

India’s state-owned telecom giant, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has a launched location-based service (LBS).

The national carrier has soft-launched four separate services based on A-GPS technology supplied by Telenity. The services include the usual LBS suspects; fleet management, friend finder, advertising and chat services.

“Proper marketing is required to attract the appropriate segment of customers. It will give BSNL an edge over its competitors in the country,” said Biswajit Paul, General Manager, BSNL East.

According to Telenity worldwide carrier revenues from LBS are expected to reach $8.5bn by 2010.

“With more 3G networks in place, increased use of advanced handsets with sophisticated features and larger screens, availability of local content and mobile advertising, we believe location-based value added services will become absolutely essential for carriers to effectively compete and differentiate in the wireless marketplace,” said Dilip Singh, CEO at Telenity.