A method and system for providing navigation services to portable communications devices, such as cellular phones. A cellular phone user uses a cellular phone to request navigation services. The cellular phone is located in a geographic area that has a cellular phone location determining system that determines the positions of cellular phones used throughout the area. The cellular phone location determining system is used to determine one or more locations of the cellular phone used to request the navigation services. A map matching program uses a map database that contains data indicating the locations of roads located throughout the geographic area to relate the position of the cellular phone to one or more roads. Optionally, a direction of travel of the cellular phone can be determined by the map matching program using data indicating multiple positions of the cellular phone over time. Data indicating the position with respect to roads located in the geographic area of the cellular phone used to request the navigation services is combined with the request for navigation services at a navigation services server. The navigation services server determines a response to the request for navigation services taking into account the location and/or direction of travel of the cellular phone.