Sprint launches open location platform with WaveMarket and WHERE

09 Jan 2009

To help developers create new location-based services for Sprint customers, the company is partnering with location aggregation platforms VeriplaceTM by WaveMarket and WHERETM by uLocate.

These platforms protect the privacy and security of Sprint customers while offering third-party mobile, Web, WAP, SMS and widget developers a consistent way to create applications that use the customer's location information to provide customised information and services, as long as permission has been provided. Both of them provide developers with simple, powerful tools to create and launch location-enabled applications, reducing the difficulty of certifying and on-boarding applications that use GPS, triangulation and other location services while protecting customer privacy.

Sprint's vice president of wireless & wireline services, Len Barlik ensured, that Veriplace and WHERE platforms have powerful but intuitive privacy systems that ensure the appropriate permissions are obtained prior to accessing location information.

Wave Market's Location Aggregation Platform Veriplace was built using the same privacy and security model that has protected Sprint phones using the Sprint Family Locator service. Third-party developers can access a handset's location via a consistent, standards-based Web-service API, while Veriplace handles ID, authentication and permissions.

Sprint subscribers already have access to a wealth of LBS applications in WHERE through an existing partnership. With the extension of the two companies' relationship, third-party developers will now be able to location-enable their applications, WAP sites, web sites and SMS campaigns through a simple web-service API.