Compared to last year, revenue generated from location-based services has been forecast to grow by 24.8 percent to reach 1.2 trillion won this year. (Image: Yonhap News TV)
SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – Compared to last year, revenue generated from location-based services has been forecast to grow by 24.8 percent to reach 1.2 trillion won this year.
Per the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA), last year’s revenue was pegged at 976.9 billion won.
Data was gathered in a study conducted last August through October by KISA, with 893 participating location-based service providers that had been cleared by or had sought registration with the Korea Communications Commission.
An analysis of the categories where location-based services generated the most revenue in 2016 found marketing and business transactions accounted for 35.1 percent (296.1 billion won), with lifestyle and entertainment (13.8 percent, 114.3 billion won) and management operations (12.4 percent, 102.6 billion won) rounding out the top three.
Though the application of location-based services in big data analysis comprised a mere 2.1 percent (17.8 billion won) of revenue, expectations are for this category to grow exponentially going forward. Among service providers, 36.7 percent were found to have given priority to big data analysis development at the expense of all others.
One to two years down the line, location-based services are projected to be increasingly integrated into self-driving vehicles, IoT, wearable devices, UAVs, and robots. Currently, location-based services are largely geared towards tablets and smartphones.
Currently, location-based services are largely geared towards tablets and smartphones. (Image: Yonhap)
For this field to grow unimpeded, service providers within the sector have pointed to the need for legal reforms. Two specific areas that should be addressed are the registration process for businesses and the notification requirement for location data collection to service users.
S.B.W. (sbw266@koreabizwire.com)
