LightSquared proposes 'simple, affordable solution' to that pesky GPS interference issue
It's not the first "solution" that LightSquared has proposed for the GPS interference issue that's gotten in the way of its LTE network rollout, but the company's now touting a new "simple, affordable solution" to the problem. That doesn't actually involve any changes to the network itself, but rather changes to the high-precision GPS hardware that is being interfered with. To that end, the company has announced that it's signed an agreement with Javad GNSS, which says that it's been able to reconfigure the filters and linear amplifiers used on existing receivers and make them "completely compatible with LightSquared's bottom 10 MHz of spectrum." According to Javad, those changes are not expected to increase selling price of newly reconfigured devices for consumers, although there would presumably be some cost to retrofit existing devices (the first units for testing are expected to be available next month). So, it may be "simple" and "affordable," but it doesn't seem like it's necessarily an "easy" solution. LightSquared's press release is after the break.
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LightSquared Announces Simple, Affordable Solution to GPS Interference Issues
RESTON, VA, September 21, 2011 – LightSquared™, a wholesale carrier building a nationwide wireless broadband network that will create consumer choice and industry innovation, has signed an agreement with Javad GNSS Inc. to develop a system that will eliminate related interference issues for high-precision GPS devices.
The Javad GNSS system can be adapted to work with high-precision GPS devices including those already in the agriculture, surveying, construction and defense industries.
Javad GNSS has completed the design, made prototypes and tested those prototypes. Preproduction units will be released for public tests in October, followed by mass production. High-precision receivers for positioning applications are expected to go to market by November 2011 and precision timing devices by March 2012.
"I have said from the beginning that this interference issue will be resolved as soon as smart engineers like Javad Ashjaee put their minds to it. With this new system, Mr. Ashjaee makes another mark for himself as a cutting edge pioneer in the precision GPS industry, a field he has helped shape for more than 30 years," said Sanjiv Ahuja, chairman and chief executive officer of LightSquared.
"This breakthrough is a final step toward LightSquared's goal of building a nationwide wireless network that will bring lower prices and better service to Americans from coast to coast."
To develop the technology, Javad GNSS took the existing flagship receivers and reconfigured the filters and linear amplifiers to make them completely compatible with LightSquared's bottom 10 MHz of spectrum. It was a very simple and inexpensive process and was developed in a matter of days. The additional cost for this technology is not expected to increase the selling price of the device to the customer.
"This interference problem is not a difficult one to solve, once you decide to solve it,'' said Javad GNSS founder Javad Ashjaee. "We've begun manufacturing preproduction models and expect to have 25 available within two weeks – we are not talking in hypotheticals here."'
"The truth is that high precision GPS users have a wide range of interference issues to contend with – from congested frequencies to intentional jamming. LightSquared made this problem much easier to solve by moving to spectrum farther away from the core GPS frequencies. As LightSquared's spectrum neighbor, it's our obligation to build a wall between our spectrum and LightSquared's. My filter accomplishes that goal,'' said Dr. Ashjaee. Good fences make good neighbors.''
"The tests conducted so far by the GPS industry did not take into account the GPS modernization plan that is in place," said Dr. Ashjaee. "Since we have demonstrated that LightSquared can certainly coexist with the current GPS satellite signals, the coexistence will be even stronger when the new GPS satellites with modern L1C, L2C and L5 un-encrypted codes are launched."
About LightSquared
LightSquared's mission is to revolutionize the U.S. wireless industry. With the creation of the first-ever, wholesale-only nationwide 4G-LTE network integrated with satellite coverage, LightSquared offers people the speed, value and reliability of universal connectivity, wherever they are in the United States. As a wholesale-only operator, LightSquared will deploy an open 4G wireless broadband network to be used by existing and new service providers to sell their own devices, applications and services – at a competitive cost and without retail competition from LightSquared. The deployment and operation of LightSquared's network represent more than $14 billion of private investment over the next eight years. For more information about LightSquared, please go to www.LightSquared.com, www.facebook.com/LightSquared and www.twitter.com/LightSquared.
