Location-based service provisioning for next generation wireless networks

We study how the wireless network infrastructure can support location-based services (LBSs). We assume that each mobile is equipped with self-geolocation capability. The wireless network can provide geolocation information of mobiles to an application services provider (ASP) so that the ASP can customize services based on the geolocation of the users. The main challenge in wireless networking is to keep track of the geolocation of mobile users such that the application service can maintain a certain quality of service (QoS). In general, the quality of service depends on how often mobiles update their geolocation. Because geolocation updates require battery power, radio resources, and signaling in the wired network, optimization of the geolocation update frequency is critical. In this paper, we present geolocation update schemes in which we can minimize the update frequency while satisfying the QoS of application service. For case study, we consider location-based traffic report service (LBS-TR) and location-based navigation service (LBS-NS). In LBS-TR, each mobile user about to enter a heavily jammed highway is informed in a timely manner so that the user can avoid traffic congestion. In LBS-NS, a mobile user is given navigation instructions custom-tailored to the geolocation of the user. The granularity of navigation instructions changes as the user moves from highway to local street and from local street to building complex.