Although most wireless devices aren't yet equipped with software that automatically identifies a user's location, these services will be available soon, largely because of a recent FCC mandate requiring all wireless phone carriers to pinpoint the origins of emergency calls by next year. Not surprisingly, wireless location technology is attracting a great deal of interest and capital investment. One enterprising company, eXitSource, a developer of navigational products in Atlanta, Ga., decided to adapt its CD-ROM content to the wireless Web. Six months of development produced a free, eponymous application that lets users find any hotel, restaurant, or hospital within a half-mile of any interstate highway in the U.S. or Canada. In some cases, eXitSource pays the carriers with which it forms ventures, and in others, the carriers pay the company.
Revenue also comes from referrals.
Using eXitSource is simple. Travelers enter their location on their phone by specifying the state, highway, and exit number or name. The phone carrier connects to the eXitSource server and retrieves the requested data from an Oracle or SQL Server database, using a program the company wrote with CGI and Microsoft Active Server Page software. We really focused on a simple user interface. After all, any service on a cell phone or PDA has to be easy to use.