Statistical analysis of the accuracy of location measurements provided for LBS in South Africa

Location-Based Services make available personalized services based on the geographical location of the subscriber mobile phone. These services are based on wireless technology and are accessible through mobile stations (mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), etc). With cheap and readily available mobile phones, underprivileged, low-income earners and rural dwellers in South Africa can optimize services provided by the mobile evolution. It is therefore important to measure and analyze the accuracy provided to ensure optimal service delivery to LBS users and explore ways to ensure customer satisfaction. This paper presents results from data on LBS collected from fifty locations in South Africa. The study aims at assessing the factors that influence the accuracy of location measurements in cellular networks. The statistical analysis of different factors such as: time of day, environment, geographical location, type of LBS request and mobile operators' network are presented. Our findings indicated that some parameters such as geographical location and environment of a LBS request have a significantly high impact on the accuracy. It is therefore important for improved accuracy to consider these parameters when providing LBS to users.