|
Tuesday, 02 October 2007 |
|
Nokia expands Internet services portfolio with NAVTEQ purchase…
Finnish mobile giant Nokia is continuing its hoped-for transition from mobile device manufacturer to Internet services provider with an agreement to purchase digital map information specialist NAVTEQ (click and click for recent similar Nokia diversification developments). Under the terms of the new agreement, Nokia will pay US$78 in cash for each share of NAVTEQ, including outstanding options, for an aggregate purchase price of approximately USD$8.1bn, or approximately US$7.7bn net of NAVTEQ existing cash balance.
“Location based services are one of the cornerstones of Nokia's Internet services strategy. The acquisition of NAVTEQ is another step toward Nokia becoming a leading player in this space,” offers Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia president and ceo. “By joining forces with NAVTEQ, we will be able to bring context and geographical information to a number of our Internet services with accelerated time to market. We also look forward to maintaining and enhancing the services and support provided to NAVTEQ's existing and future customers.”
After completion of the transaction, NAVTEQ’s current map data business will continue operationally independent, but organisationally as a Nokia Group company. NAVTEC president and ceo Judson Green will report directly to Kallasvuo.
According to The INSIGHT Research the worldwide market for location-based telecommunication services is expected to reach nearly US$1.5bn this year as an ever increasing number of cellular and other wireless carriers provide customised services based upon a location-awareness of their end-users. The ‘Location Based Services Market 2007-2011’ market research study reckons location-based telecommunication services are most popular in Asian countries, where they provide wireless subscribers with tailored information based upon their current physical location.
The INSIGHT Research analysis notes that location-based services are part of a worldwide push by carriers to create new IP-enabled services for consumers and business users, and suggests that consumers of mobile telecommunications services are adopting location based services along with other IP-enabled services such as video telephony, fixed-mobile convergence, file sharing, streaming, and presence based services.
“In the early 1990’s the use of global positioning systems with wireless telecommunications was restricted to military applications,” says Robert Rosenberg, Insight Research. “Now the application is commonplace, with mothers using the technology to keep track of their children, or students using the service to learn the street address of the closest automated teller machine to their current location.”
John Williamson |
