Telmap’s solution also includes unique pedestrian navigation, guiding users through pedestrian-only areas such as parks, squares, passages, and stairs, tracking user’s progress as they walk. The Telmap – BlueSky Positioning cooperation allows smart and mid-range phone users to access real-time location information without the need to invest in location-aware hardware.

Velipekka Kuoppala, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at BlueSky Positioning, added, “The collaboration with market leader Telmap strengthens the confidence in our A-GPS technology for SIM cards, and proves that GPS is not only suitable for high-end phones, but can be made available to all consumer segments with both basic and enhanced phones. Most importantly, this SIM centric solution gives value chain control to mobile operators and opens up wider opportunities for their marketing teams to create location based services.”

François Blanchard, Global Account Marketing Manager at Sagem Orga, said: “The SIM is entering a new era where it can now be considered as a real service platform and a valuable device; the A-GPS enabled SIM card will reshape the way SIM card are perceived by MNOs and end-users.”

The primary purpose of A-GPS SIM is to provide accurate positioning information of the phone to emergency services in case of an emergency call as required by E112 and E911 legislation in the EU and the U.S. respectively. In addition to this, it can support generic location-based services such as navigation, ‘find a place or person’ services, location-aware games, and many more.