Skyhook Wireless has upgraded its software developer kit to include location-based advertising from Quattro Wireless, a mobile site developer and ad network.

Developers using the Skyhook Wi-Fi Positioning System will now be able to embed ads from Quattro in their mobile applications. The idea is to serve ads that are based on the mobile consumer's location.

"Quattro did this deal because we wanted to get into the space of advertising within mobile applications as well as within targeted mobile applications," said Eswar Priyadarshan, chief technology officer of Quattro, Waltham, MA.

"Many of the client advertiser RFPs [request for proposals] we're seeing have a local targeting component to them and therefore we're constantly looking for ways to expand our local reach and this partnership is right in line with that effort on our part," he said.

In addition to its mobile ad network, Quattro is known for its GetMobile platform that lets advertisers and publishers build, manage and host their mobile sites.

The upgraded Skyhook software developer kit will enable Wi-Fi positioning customization based on the needs of different location-based applications.

Developers can choose the push-to-fix deployment mode for on-demand location or continuous scanning mode for navigation and other applications that need constant location awareness, according to Skyhook.

"What we've done with Quattro is we've extended that code so that the developer now requests location from our engine and they also request a location-targeted ad from the engine," said Ted Morgan, founder and CEO of Skyhook, Boston.

"Quattro will track the number of users, how much the developer gets paid for that ad and make sure they get paid, just like AdSense works with Google," he said.

Sky-Fi
Skyhook's metro-area positioning system uses Wi-Fi instead of satellites or cell towers to deliver location data supporting location-based services.

Quattro is Skyhook's first mobile ad network partner. Other Skyhook clients are AOL for instant messaging and Apple Inc. for the iPhone.

The Quattro ad network includes Procter & Gamble Co., Sony, General Motors Corp. and Thumbplay. Quattro gets paid for facilitating the ads in the network and Skyhook gets paid for providing the location. The developer or the application owner is paid for providing the user.

"Quattro wants to go after higher-value ad inventory, which is more targeted, more relevant ads," Mr. Morgan said.

"But in order to do that, they need additional elements of the user, in particular, location," he said. "And right now, Quattro and other ad engines have a hard time getting the user's location. By working with Skyhook, they can get the location from a large number of mobile devices."