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Industry View category

December 14, 2007

Atheros Communications Buys u-Nav

Continuing a trend of GPS technology acquisitions designed to facilitate mixed technology wireless products, Atheros Communications has announced a definitive agreement to buy the assets of u-Nav Microelectronics, an Irvine, California–based fabless GPS semiconductor company.

Atheros, with headquarters in Santa Clara, California, is a nine-year-old developer of wireless semiconductor products, including 802.11 standard-based wireless local area network (WLAN), Bluetooth, and personal handy-phone system (PHS) equipment.

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By Glen Gibbons
November 26, 2007

Trimble Snares USCG DGPS Contract; NDGPS Imperiled

Even as the fate of the inland portions of the Nationwide Differential GPS (NDGPS) reference network hangs in the balance, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has awarded a contract to Trimble for up to 400 high-accuracy GPS reference receivers.

The Trimble NetRS reference receivers will be installed over the next three years as part of the coast guard’s modernization of the Maritime DGPS Service, which is not part of the NDGPS elements that being considered for termination.

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By Glen Gibbons
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TomTom Gains with Tele Atlas; Garmin Signs with Navteq

Thwarted in its latter-day attempt to buy digital mapmaker Tele Atlas out from under TomTom, GPS manufacturer Garmin International has signed a long-term deal with rival map provider Navteq.

Under the agreement announced November 16, Garmin will extend its current six-year agreement with Chicago, Illinois–based NAVTEQ to access to map data through 2015 with an option to continue through 2019.

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By Glen Gibbons
October 18, 2007

STM Launches 32-Channel GPS Processor

STMicroelectronics has introduced Cartesio, its new automotive-grade application processor with embedded GPS for navigation and telematics. The processor couples with ST’s GPS RF chip (STA5620) to provide a core receiver unit.

Cartesio (STA2062) integrates a 32-bit ARM CPU core with a high-sensitivity 32-channel GPS subsystem and a large set of connectivity peripherals, including CAN, USB, UARTs, and SPI. It also provides on-chip high-speed RAM and real-time clock functionality, according to the company.

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By Glen Gibbons

Get ready for the 2008 Toulouse Space Show! ENC-GNSS, EFTF 08, and more . . .

ESA/CNES launcher at Toulouse Space Center

Next April’s Toulouse Space Show will provide a good deal of company for the European Navigation Conference (ENC-GNSS 2008).

In addition to the annual European Frequency and Time Forum (EFTF 08), which joined ENC-GNSS 2007 this year at TimeNav ’07 in Geneva, Switzerland, events include a Space Applications symposium sponsored by the French space agency CNES, a commercial exhibition, and associated events for the general public, students, and young people, to promote the value of space applications in daily life.

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By Glen Gibbons
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October 6, 2007

Cornering the Market on Navigable Maps? Nokia/NAVTEQ, TomTom/Tele Atlas Deals

The stunning sequence of multi-billion-dollar buyout offers for the two leading navigable map data providers TeleAtlas and NAVTEQ — by TomTom and Nokia, respectively — raises issues not only of access to critical intellectual property (IP) and a long-delayed explosion of location-based services (LBS) but may also determine the outcome of the long-debated platform of choice for GNSS-enriched consumer applications.

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By Glen Gibbons

Block IIF Satellite Heads for Key Tests

Boeing technicians and first Block IIF satellite

The Boeing Company has successfully assembled and integrated all flight hardware onto the first GPS Block IIF (follow-on generation) satellite. Launch is now scheduled for the second half of 2008.

GPS llF spacecraft will bring new capabilities to the GPS constellation, such as a new encrypted military code, a new civil signal, crosslink enhancements, increased signal power, and longer design life. Boeing is building 12 GPS Block IIF satellites under contract from the GPS Wing at the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base.

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By Glen Gibbons

NovAtel Confirmed for Long-Term Galileo Contracft

Thales Alenia Space Italia (TAS-I) has awarded NovAtel Inc. a €440,000 milestone award for continued development of the Galileo ground reception Chain (GRC) reference receiver. Although the incremental size of the award is modest, the agreement provides for confirmed, longer-term funding of a two-year-old contract valued at €6.3M (US$8.6 million).

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By Glen Gibbons
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