Advanced location-based services

This special issue of Computer Communications presents state-of-the-art research and applications in the area of location-based services (LBS). Initial location-based services entered the market around the turn of the millennium and for the greater part appeared in the form of restaurant finders and tourist guides, which never gained widespread user acceptance. The reasons for this were numerous and ranged from inaccurate localization mechanisms like Cell-ID, little creativity in the design and functions of such services, to a generally low acceptance of data services. However, in recent years, there has been an increasing market penetration of GPS-capable mobile phones and devices, which not only support high-accuracy positioning, but also allow for the execution of sophisticated location-based applications due to fast mobile data services, remarkable computational power and high-resolution color displays. Furthermore, the popularity of these devices is accompanied by the emergence of new players in the LBS market, which offer real-time mapping, points-of-interest content, navigation support, and supplementary services. LBS have also received a significant boost by federal government agency mandates in emergency services, such as in the United States of America.