Lost in some of the LBS hype is a specification offered from the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) that supports interoperability, security and authentification for applications and device manufacturers. The Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) specification is to support location determination regardless of the location server used by the mobile carrier. As the number of applications grow for LBS, so does the need by developers to work across location platforms and mobile device hardware manufactuers.

Take an example: TeleCommunication Systems (TCS) and TruePosition have SUPL-compliant location servers. Cellular Carrier A might have a different location server provider from Carrier B. If you have a mobile device that is SUPL compliant, it won’t matter which carrier is OEMing this mobile device as it will work with any location server.

It's likely you will be hearing more about SUPL as more device manufacturers look for SUPL compliant devices and software solutions. Some addition information can be found in an article we published last August by Gerry Christiansen and a recent announcements by Spime.