Archives

LightSquared: 1, High-Precision GPS: 0

July 14, 2011 - By

At stake is the high-precision GPS industry as we know it. If LightSquared's current proposal is approved by the FCC, it will render tens of thousands, and possibly hundreds of thousands of GPS receivers obsolete starting as early as next year. The FCC is accepting public comments until July 30 and replies to those comments until August 15. After the public comment period is closed, the FCC can render a decision at any time. Last weekend, I spoke alongside LightSquared and the Coalition to Save Our GPS in a two-hour panel discussion at the Esri Survey Summit in San Diego. Here's my report. read more

This article is tagged with , , and posted in Opinions, Survey

A Tale of Two Symposia

July 13, 2011 - By

It is not the best of times as we have been at war for ten years without significant upgrades to the military GPS user equipment supplied to our valiant warfighters. It is not the worst of times as war inexorably draws to a close; now of course come a few military GPS upgrades for which the warfighters have been clamoring for ten years. read more

This article is tagged with , and posted in Defense, Opinions

U.S. Defense, Transportation Say Keep Wireless Comm Away from L-Band

July 9, 2011 - By

The U.S. Departments of Defense and Transportation declared their strong opposition to the LightSquared proposal for a nationwide broadband service immediately adjacent to GPS signals. They asked the FCC to withhold authorization for the company to commence commercial service per its proposed deployment of a terrestrial service within the 1525-1559 MHz bands. read more

This article is tagged with , , , and posted in Mobile

Exit COO and President at Harbinger, LightSquared Owner

July 8, 2011 - By

Harbinger Capital Partners, the hedge-fund firm that owns wireless-network company LightSquared, which recently launched a frontal assault on the GPS signal, announced on July 6 that its chief operating officer (COO) had resigned by “mutual agreement.” Peter Jenson had been responsible for all operational activities of the funds. His exact role in the application for a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) conditional waiver to broadcast a powerful L1 signal from 40,000 U.S.-based terrestrial cell towers is unknown at this time; however, it is certain to have been key. read more

This is posted in GNSS, OEM

Strategy Overhauls, Strong M2M, Privacy — and What More’s in Store

July 8, 2011 - By

It’s July, which means big news is slow to come by—and it is the opportunity to examine what will drive the location-based services market for the rest of 2011…and beyond. So far, consolidation is continuing, with Nokia combining digital mapping giant Navteq into a single LBS unit. In addition, strong entries into the machine-to-machine market include Iridium, while AT&T seeks to increase market share. Privacy issues were a big topic in the first part of the 2011, but will they hamper market growth the rest of the year? read more

This article is tagged with , , and posted in Mobile, Opinions

Septentrio and Altus Announce Expansion of Strategic Relationship

July 8, 2011 - By

Septentrio Satellite Navigation NV and Altus Positioning Systems today announced that the two companies are expanding their strategic relationship to pursue growth opportunities in the high-precision satellite-based surveying sector. Septentrio is a manufacturer of high-end Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers for professional navigation, positioning, and timing applications. Altus is an international supplier of GNSS equipment for survey applications. Both are privately held companies. read more

This article is tagged with , and posted in Survey

Final Report of FCC Working Group: Lose LightSquared from L-Band

July 6, 2011 - By

“Based on the analysis performed, LightSquared should not be permitted to use the L-Band spectrum for a densely-deployed, non-integrated terrestrial-only network. Such a network would cause unacceptable interference to GPS operations, wiping out an installed base of over 500 million units used in a wide array of public safety, aviation, industrial and consumer applications. While mitigation techniques utilizing filters were discussed in theory, they could not be tested as part of the WG effort because filters do not exist, even in prototypes. No information considered by the WG demonstrated that any mitigation techniques — other than relocation of the proposed terrestrial network to an alternative band — would be successful.” (From the U.S. GPS Industry Council's overview of the WG report) read more

This article is tagged with , and posted in GNSS, OEM

The Economics of Disruption: $96 Billion Annually at Risk

July 1, 2011 - By

“The Economic Benefits of Commercial GPS Use in the United States and the Costs of Potential Disruption” was presented by Nam D. Pham, Ph.D., of NDP Consulting, during a June 21 webinar sponsored by the Coalition to Save Our GPS. The report states: “The direct economic benefits of GPS technology on commercial GPS users are estimated to be over $67.6 billion per year in the United States. read more

This article is tagged with , , , and posted in GNSS
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