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Private company

AlterGeo

Logo: AlterGeo LLC, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons3

Russian IT company

AlterGeo, formerly known as Wi2Geo, is a Russian IT company specializing in the development of a global hybrid positioning system which combines Wi-Fi, WiMAX, GSM, GPS, LTE, IP address and network environment approaches. It also created cross-platform location-based services Gvidi and AlterGeo, and hyperlocal banner ad system Local Hero.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

Jul 2008Founded1

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AlterGeo, formerly known as Wi2Geo, is a Russian IT company specializing in the development of a global hybrid positioning system which combines Wi-Fi, WiMAX, GSM, GPS, LTE, IP address and network environment approaches. It also created cross-platform location-based services Gvidi and AlterGeo, and hyperlocal banner ad system Local Hero.2

Products and brands

Technology

AlterGeo was established in 2008 to build a Wi-Fi positioning technology on the basis of the PhD thesis of one of its founders.

As long as the company's goal was to develop a universal solution which could overcome the limitations of satellite systems such as GPS, A-GPS and GLONASS, the team expanded R&D activities, and developed a "global hybrid system for the positioning of electronic devices by WiFi, WiMAX, GSM, LTE, IP addresses and network environment".

AlterGeo claim their system has significant coverage in Europe, especially in Russia and the CIS, Asia, as well as in North and South America, and claim to operate a database of more than 135 million Wi-Fi, WiMAX, GSM and LTE active access points while processing more than 400 million location requests and positioning more than 100 million devices all over the world on a daily basis. Accuracy: 20–30 metres for the hybrid system; 500–1,000 metres for IP-based positioning.

Local Hero, hyperlocal ad service

In December 2014, AlterGeo released Local Hero, a self-service hyperlocal banner advertising system for local businesses. It claims to be able to publish customers' banners throughout the Internet (via several RTB ad exchanges) and display them on desktop and mobile devices within small geographic areas (the minimum radius is 500 meters).

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B2C location-based services

To demonstrate an example of how the alternative positioning system can be implemented in the field of web and mobile services for wide audiences, the company started developing its own B2C location-based services.

AlterGeo, geosocial network

Launched in 2008, the location-based service of AlterGeo began as a relatively simple friend-to-friend location-sharing service. AlterGeo is currently reported to be the leading cross-platform location-based social network in the whole Russian-speaking world, with more than 1.2 million people using its website and free mobile apps for iOS, Android, Windows Phone (additionally supplied with the augmented reality feature) and Bada.

Gvidi, recommendation system

According to TechCrunch, in 2012 the company realised "they were sitting on a lot of interesting data which could be applied to restaurants, so they released what they say is an 'intelligent restaurant guide', Gvidi", a free mobile app for iOS and Android based on a sophisticated recommendation system.

Gvidi (from Esperanto: gvidi, IPA: [ˈgvidi], meaning "to guide", "to head", "to lead", "to direct", "to conduct") combines a directory of restaurants, cafes, etc. with the use of social media to try to determine which will be more suitable for the user. The system monitors the user's social graphs through Facebook, Twitter, AlterGeo, Vkontakte, Foursquare etc., as well as their current location, to make recommendations. Restaurants, cafes and bars can be filtered across multiple criteria: Wi-Fi, 24/7, playground, non-smoking, and more. Table booking and special offers are also available.

From Wikipedia’s article on AlterGeo, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. Jul 2008Founded Founded1

Sources

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