STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Sept. 19, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Mobilaris, the Swedish developers of information service middleware and location-based services for 2, 2.5 and 3G networks, have entered into a co-operative marketing agreement with Cambridge Positioning Systems (CPS) to accelerate the rollout of high-accuracy location-based services throughout Europe.
"With both fixed and mobile network operators in Europe mandated to make caller location information available to emergency authorities from next year, demand for high performance emergency applications and positioning technology is expected to surge," said Mobilaris' CEO Bjorn Westerholm.
"By combining our middleware expertise with CPS' competence in positioning, we will be able to market the benefits of high precision positioning to network operators. Together, we can show them a different breadth of mass market, feature rich location applications that can be achieved by E-OTD positioning technology."
E-OTD technology has already been accepted as the standard location solution by GSM operators in the U.S., where it is pivotal in the rollout of location-enabled cellular phones to meet the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) E-911 mandate.
In Europe, operators will be legally required to make caller information available to authorities handling emergencies for all calls to the single European emergency call number 112, or E-112, with effect from 2003.
"As well as raising the public's awareness of the benefits of location, the new European E-112 legislation will ensure that operators have the necessary building blocks in place to deliver location enhanced services," said CPS CEO Chris Wade.
"It will also focus attention on ways in which operators can commercialise the equipment they need to install to meet the EU directive."
As part of the co-operative marketing agreement - believed to be the first of its type in Europe - Mobilaris' Pacific Ocean(1) middleware platform will be integrated with CPS' reference network.
"This will allow us to demonstrate physically how the business case of LCS can be improved with underlying enhancements to the positioning technology," added Chris Wade.
"Together we can make high quality location based service a reality in Europe."
CPS is a world leading supplier of E-OTD technology through its customers - global network equipment vendors including Ericsson, Nortel Networks and Siemens.
About Mobilaris
Based in Stockholm and Lulea, Sweden, Mobilaris' mission is to focus on fast time-to-market and return-on-investment for operators. Mobilaris combines the expertise of the very real mobile operator business environment with world-class mobile Internet technology and R&D. The founders of Mobilaris include proven business developers for location- based services, mobile software developers and strategic management expertise from the mobile communication industry. Mobilaris have together with Ericsson deployed commercially running installations across Europe.
(1)Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean is a service-enabling mediation middleware functioning as a layer between end-user services and subservient operator systems. The solution enables fast development of mobile services due to open interfaces allowing application providers to access functionality such as positioning, billing, statistics and similar systems. The design of the instrumentation enables the operator to scale and change legacy systems
About Cambridge Positioning Systems
Cambridge Positioning Systems Limited (CPS) develops and licenses its Cursor E-OTD (Enhanced Observed Time Difference) system to handset manufacturers and network equipment vendors. The company is working with, or has licensed its technology to Ericsson, Nortel Networks, Siemens and Lucent Technologies.
Cursor delivers high accuracy mobile location technology for GSM networks, with even greater accuracy predicted on 3G networks. CPS has conducted successful trials of the Cursor system in the U.K., North America, Asia Pacific and Europe.
From October 2001 in the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission has mandated that all calls from mobile phones to emergency services be accompanied by highly accurate information about the location of a caller. This ruling known as E-911 will provide significant opportunities for CPS' highly accurate location technology as E-OTD emerges as the preferred choice to fulfil the FCC's regulation. For further information, contact
Colin Ashcroft
Cambridge Positioning Systems Tel: +44 (0) 1223 326984 Mobile: +44 (0) 7769 740 296 E: colin.ashcroft@cursor-system.com Nikolas Georgii Mobilaris AB Tel: +46 8 764 72 72 Mobile: +46 705 39 60 66 E: nikolas.georgii@mobilaris.com
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