The technology is still too fragmented to be easily used across all venues, though it can be implemented consistently across one company, Micello's Agarwal said. He expects indoor location capabilities eventually to be implemented at the chip level, a process he said CSR has begun with its SiRFusion Location Platform. On Wednesday, Broadcom also announced a location chip designed for both indoor and outdoor operation, with the ability to use inputs from a wide range of sensors including inertial sensors, Bluetooth beacons and near-field communications systems. But Agarwal cautioned that it will take as much as 24 months for new location chips to proliferate through new devices in consumers' hands.

Though the technology isn't quite ready yet, indoor positioning shouldn't be dismissed, Skyhook's Brachet said.

"We forget in this industry that four years ago, LBS was really just turn-by-turn navigation and find-my-kids through cell-tower location," Brachet said. "Since then, there's been an explosion of the market ... and I think we'll see the same thing with indoor positioning."

The IDG News Service