BARCELONA—As telecommunications companies move to 5G, such companies as New York-based CARTO will be able to give executives location information to optimize their business processes.
“As they add 5G networks, and how they plan to deploy them, the insights around location use allow decision-makers to optimize business processes,” said Javier de la Torre, CARTO CEO and founder, at the recent Mobile World Congress.
The company, which now has 630 employees, is working with Vodafone to optimize this location data for 5G site selection and even tourism, he said. “One of our partners here at MWC, Vodafone, is processing an aggregate layer of location information. We are working with other data providers and plan to expand in the [United Kingdom], Germany and Italy,” de la Torre said.
CARTO, founded in 2012, started out because foundational geographic information systems (GIS) needed to change because of new technology and location acquisition processes, de la Torre said. “It’s one of the core reasons we changed traditional GIS. With new analytics, machine learning and cloud computing, the new demand drives business processes,” he said. “This includes [use cases] of determining foot traffic within cities, credit card use tracking, site selection, weather, retail tourism.”
CARTO Partners with Mapbox
Earlier this year, CARTO and Mapbox said they would provide a mapping and location data platform for developers. CARTO provides the advanced analytics and location applications.
The company is integrating Mapbox’s maps, search, and navigation APIs and SDKs.
CARTO plans to reinvent the use of location data in an industry long dominated by ESRI and HERE, de la Torre said. “There are so many opportunities in this industry. The analytics layers and visualization points on maps—and what do you do beyond that,” he said. “What will happen in the future for a company’s planning [purposes]. That’s the real money is—customers solving real location problems.”
