Can European Carriers Locate A Business Model For Location Based Services?

Interesting article in TheFeature about the challenges facing European carriers who are trying to introduce location-based services to consumers.

In Europe, however, despite a number of recent attempts, location-based services haven't really been able to catch on. A new study about LBS in Europe suggests that, like so many attempts at wireless data services, carriers rushed into the marketplace without really understanding either what the users wanted or business model issues associated with such services...

....Instead, the report suggests something quite similar to what OnStar discovered in the US. People don't necessarily see the value in paying for those location-based services that are considered "nice-to-haves" instead of "need-to-haves." Instead, they're interested in safety and security applications.