High Accuracy Location Based Services CostBenefit Study: Final Report

This report presents a benefit and cost study of a Cooperative High‐Accuracy LOcation (C‐HALO) service. A High Accuracy Location service should be ubiquitous and reliable as the GPS constellation. A survey of the literature on location services reveals a body of work on the benefits of a high accuracy location service. Focusing on road travel, benefits are estimated to be between $160-$320 billion dollars over slightly more than 20 years. The benefits arise from smoother traffic flow on the roads leading to reduced travel delays, and fewer accidents leading to reduced injuries and saved lives; it may also yield climate‐change and public health benefits through its enabling of smoother traffic flow. The cost assessment considers where new infrastructure investment is required.