Global Navigation Satellite Systems Engineering, Policy, and Design
As 2020 comes to a close, the Ligado Networks LLC’s (Ligado) mobile satellite services (MSS) project remains at a standstill. While actions in the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) proceedings in the case have stagnated, Congressional action, funds and filings have flowed.
By Dawn M.K. Zoldi (Colonel, USAF, Ret.)
A framework to seamlessly navigate people from urban road traffic to indoor foot traffic uses the phone’s inertial measurement unit, GNSS chipset and camera, aided by an extended Kalman filter and ORB-SLAM. Tests show the framework performing well in both phases, guiding the phone’s user, behind the wheel on a city street, to a spot in an underground parking garage and walking to a meeting inside a large building.
Ten companies active in positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) have formed the Open PNT Industry Alliance. The coalition seeks to fortify economic and national security by supporting government efforts to accelerate the implementation of backup PNT capabilities for critical infrastructure.
By Inside GNSS
The European GNSS Agency (GSA) has started testing the Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) feature in the Galileo signals.
By Inside GNSS
Swift Navigation announced that its production-grade State Space Representation (SSR) GNSS corrections service is available in extensive coverage areas: across the continental United States and Europe and in Japan, South Korea and Australia, with plans underway to expand globally.
By Inside GNSS
NextNav, a provider of 3D geolocation, announced the availability of its vertical positioning service in sixteen major metropolitan areas in the US. The vertical positioning service helps first responders find people — via their cell phones or tablets — faster in multi-story buildings, opens up new urban markets for location-based applications, and unlocks a new ecosystem of 3D geolocation products.
By Inside GNSS
Six months ago, the FCC unanimously granted Ligado’s amended license modification applications to deploy a low-power terrestrial nationwide network in the L-Band. Petitions for reconsideration remain pending, interest groups continue to agitate for change, Congress awaits answers to conflict-of-interest questions—and Ligado presses forward as planned.
By Dawn M.K. Zoldi (Colonel, USAF, Ret.)
The GNSS User Technology Report 2020 from the European GNSS Agency (GSA) analyzes the latest GNSS trends and developments as the GNSS industry broadly adopts multifrequency receivers across market segments.
By Inside GNSS
A broad cross-industry coalition sent a strongly worded letter to the Senate Commerce Committee warning that the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) Ligado Order that impacts GPS, if left in place, “would upend decades of sound spectrum policy, negatively impact a significant cross-section of commercial, federal, and academic users who rely on the many different L-band satellite services, and threaten the safety of most Americans.”
By Inside GNSS
A favorable GAO ruling discounted Congressional allegations that the FCC skipped a key legal step before granting Ligado’s controversial application. This positions the broadband company closer to its target and to ongoing interference with GPS signals.
By Dawn M.K. Zoldi (Colonel, USAF, Ret.)
Tallysman Wireless Inc., a manufacturer of precision GNSS antennas and related components, has been acquired by Calian Group Ltd, a publicly owned Canadian company. Both companies are based in Ottawa, Canada.
By Inside GNSS
GMV Innovating Solutions Limited, the UK aerospace company belonging to the Spanish technology multinational GMV, has signed a merger agreement with Nottingham Scientific Limited (NSL).
By Inside GNSS
Microchip Technology’s new time and frequency server with an embedded M-Code GPS receiver gives protection to military communication systems, radar and networks from the threats associated with intentional GPS jamming and spoofing, as well as cybersecurity risks to critical infrastructure.
By Inside GNSS
