A1 Telekom becomes HERE’s first operator customer

Location-based services company HERE Technologies has managed to entice the first telecoms client to its Marketplace in the form of A1 Telekom Austria Group.

HERE Marketplace is a cloud platform designed to offer location-based services (LBS) capabilities to whoever thinks they need them. HERE was formed when a bunch of German car companies bought the unit from Nokia, which in turn was formed from the acquisition of Navteq back when Nokia was still trying to take on the likes of Google and Apple in the smartphone space.

The platform is described by HERE as a ‘global hub for location data exchange’, so it seems designed as a place where various stakeholders can contribute, as well as extract, location data in a GDPR-compliant way. A1 will use HERE Marketplace as a new distribution channel, offering location and mobility analytics based on anonymous movement data provided by its cellular network.

“Our analytics product, A1 Mobility Insights, has already proven itself to be considerably helpful during the current coronavirus crisis,” said Mario Mayerthaler, Head of Innovations at A1 Telekom.  “By joining the HERE Marketplace, we can go a step further again, making our analytics product accessible to a broader target group and allowing other industries to benefit from the anonymized movement analyses. These analyses form the foundation for optimizing smart cities, tourism, retail, and traffic planning, to name a few examples.”

“We’re excited to welcome A1 Telekom Austria Group as the first telecom company on the HERE Marketplace,” said Michiel Verberg, Director Telecoms at HERE. “This is an important step for us, strengthening the position of the HERE Marketplace at the centre of a cross-industry ecosystem around location and mobility data. By continuously expanding the available datasets, we can further accelerate location data-driven innovation and create new business opportunities across multiple industries and markets.”

Here Marketplace seems to have been around for a while, but maybe it’s only recently starting to gain traction. Considering HERE’s core asset is its own mapping and location data, it’s a bold move to simultaneously position itself as the place for third parties to share theirs. When Nokia sold HERE it was still positioned as a simple LBS provider, but it seems to have evolved significantly since then.