A new position

If the future of mobile internet lies in location-based services, then mobilePosition may be poised to take the lead

The founders of mobilePosition, Hagge Rilegard, Lars Bystrom and Thomas Ekerborn came up with the idea for the company's first software application while they were crossing the

Atlantic on a yacht. They wanted to create a company that specialised in mobile positioning services, and a boat, it transpired, was the perfect place to start. They developed yachtPosition.com, a location-based service that will provide the user with details of the nearest harbour and supplies. Finding local services was once a time-consuming business for sailors; with yachtposition, theoretically three letters tapped into a phone will yield a wealth of tailored information.

Since the Stockholm-based company's inception in mid-1999, three employees have become 50 and the company has expanded into Germany. Currently they have their eye on the UK and the rest of Europe with plans to set up in the US next year. mobilePosition's CEO, Johan Othelius, sees location-based services as one of the key drivers for the future of mobile internet.

And the venture capitalists seem inclined to agree. Initial seed funding of $500,000 in 1999 from the Swedish firm Idea Capital was swiftly followed by a further $3.5 million from European Digital Partners and $4.9 million from Kaupthung by the end of 2000.

The launch of yachtPosition has been followed by six other consumer applications: brandposition; friendposition; dateposition; houseposition; bikeposition; and weatherposition. Services have been integrated and commercially launched with Telia in Sweden and Sonera in Finland. When friendposition was chosen by MSN, Microsoft's web portal, for its Swedish site msn.se, the start-up was given a stamp of approval that has led to negotiations with operators and portals throughout Europe. Paying customers include Nokia, Toshiba, First Hotels, Schibsted, Carphone Warehouse's portal mViva and FortuneCity's portal WapDrive. brandPosition's first customer is Audi; the car manufacturer will provide location specific information via the phone to its drivers.

mobilePosition is targeting specific markets. friendposition allows users to send a text to find out if any of their friends are in the area. With the unexpected success of SMS messages, particularly among teenagers, there is scope for this service to become popular within that age group.

datePosition is a location-based dating service that matches user profiles and texts the subscriber if a potential date is in their area that evening.

housePosition, released in February, provides location-specific information on houses for sale.MOBILE logo.tif

As internet technologies develop at dizzying speeds, user-friendliness is paramount. mobilePosition's applications are based on a unique system where co-ordinates are generated by the operator through an enabler. There is no need for a GPS system or a change of SIM card. Current applications can be used on 2G, GPRS and eventually 3G phones. Most of the service is done via SMS but the system is available on WAP. The appeal of WAP on a location-based application is that internet searches are more targeted and cut out much of the irrelevant material.

Since its launch, yachtPosition has clocked up 30,000 registered users. With the addition of further services there are two million hits a month, from both fixed and mobile users. Revenues come from end users via operators.

The operator charges a fee for the service on top of the standard traffic charge. The fee can be waived or reduced in place of the user being sent an advert prior to their information. Further revenue is generated through licences to use the software purchased by operators, portals, global brands and media houses. Although mobilePosition develops the applications they can be used with the brand name of the operator or portal on a white label system. Microsoft operates friendposition under its own brand.

The security software mPass was developed and launched to guarantee privacy and security. By protecting the operator and user, mobilePosition hopes to increase traffic and customer loyalty. mPass also enables operators to integrate to external applications from different service providers.

Californian company (and former MCI upstart) Airflash, announced its first SMS location-based service with much fanfare at the GSM Congress in Cannes last month. But Othelius is quick to point out that mobilePosition is a pioneer in the area; first to launch with operators, first to use network-based positioning, first external application to use the Ericsson positioning system. It has benefited from early feedback from end users, operators and equipment vendors, and has managed to integrate with key players ahead of its competition. And with a strong team of technical staff - some of whom were wooed from Ericsson's location-based development team - mobilePosition is confident for the future.

mobilePosition

Launched: November 1999

Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden

Backing: EDP/KKR and Kaupthung Queen of Flagship.

Investment: $8.9 million

Predicted breakeven: mid-2002

CEO: Johan Othelius