LightSquared, a wireless operator setup by a hedgefund in order to compete with “the big four”, have been having a few issues getting their network off the ground. They’ve got the money, they’ve got the spectrum, but the bands they chose to use cause some serious interference with GPS signals. Testing done earlier this year showed that GPS receivers as far as 22 miles away from a LightSquared cell tower were rendered completely useless. LightSquared went back to the drawing board, decided to move their signals farther away from existing GPS bands, and to lower the transmission power of individual towers. Doing this showed resulted in a significant improvement for existing GPS devices to work, but it wasn’t enough to make the GPS industry happy. Now remember, we’re not just talking about turn by turn navigation devices you can buy from any electronics store, we’re talking about airplanes here, and high end agricultural equipment.
Today everything changes, at least that’s what LightSquared says. They claim that together with Javad GNSS, they’ve solved the GPS interference issue. It’s apparently as simple as “taking existing flagship receivers and reconfiguring the filters and linear amplifiers”, which is supposed to be an inexpensive process that takes just a few days to perform. Sanjiv Ahuja, the CEO of LightSquared, says:
“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. 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.”
The inevitable reply from the GPS industry is just a few short days away from being broadcast to the world. We’ll be here to cover it.