Globalstar-Echo Ridge Agreement Advances New Assured PNT Technology and Service
July 08 2019 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
Globalstar and Echo Ridge Partnership Supports
New Technology to Backup GPS
Globalstar, Inc. of Covington, LA (NYSE American: GSAT) and Echo
Ridge, LLC of Sterling, VA have signed an agreement to collaborate,
share data, and jointly pursue market opportunities for a new
assured positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) technology that
can backup and/or complement GPS when GPS is unavailable or
unreliable. The agreement includes joint assessment of commercial
and government market requirements and use cases for an assured PNT
service based on the technology, which is called Augmented
Positioning System (APS). The envisioned service responds to
increasing user concerns about GPS vulnerability and the critical
importance of accurate PNT information to support essential
services and infrastructure. The companies plan to offer limited
trial service to selected customers beginning this year and,
pending positive market assessment, expect to enter into an
agreement enabling ongoing commercial assured PNT services.
“Today so much of our critical infrastructure relies on the GPS
system, including transportation, telecommunications, logistics,
and utilities, that any disruption to this service can create
severe impacts and risk lives,” said Jim Kilfeather, VP of emerging
technologies at Globalstar. “The assured PNT service we propose
will provide a reliable backup and complement to GPS to help secure
the availability of vital positioning and timing information.”
The new technology that underlies the prospective assured PNT
service uses ordinary signals from communications satellites (not
special positioning/navigation signals, such as GPS) to produce
accurate position and timing information in compatible user
devices. No new infrastructure is needed to implement the service.
Globalstar’s constellation of 24 low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites
and Echo Ridge software and compatible devices at the user end
provide the building blocks for the APS-based service. The
technology, which has been successfully demonstrated in diverse
environments, incorporates multiple features that boost
availability and reliability to produce accurate PNT information
under circumstances that can challenge or disable GPS/GNSS
technology.
About Globalstar
Globalstar, Inc. is a leading provider of mobile satellite voice
and data services to individuals, governments, and businesses in
industries such as emergency management, marine, logging, oil &
gas and outdoor recreation. Globalstar products include mobile and
fixed satellite telephones, the Sat-Fi satellite hotspot, Simplex
and Duplex satellite data modems, tracking devices and service
packages. Globalstar’s two-way duplex, one-way simplex and SPOT
products transmit more than 1.3 billion messages a year. The
company’s network of 24 satellites covers over 80% of the Earth's
surface and uses a modern W-CDMA air interface. In 2018, the
company launched its Globalstar Automotive division to support
future connected and autonomous vehicles and intelligent
transportation systems by assisting automotive OEMs and other
ecosystem partners to implement connectivity solutions for vehicles
and critical transportation infrastructure.
About Echo Ridge
Echo Ridge, LLC is a Northern Virginia small business that
provides RF-focused product development, including intellectual
property development, to the Government and commercial marketplace
through hardware and software design and production, and signal
processing algorithm development. Echo Ridge develops, produces,
and sells advanced devices/systems for
Positioning/Navigation/Timing (PNT), Electronic Warfare (EW), and
high-fidelity laboratory modeling, simulation and testing. Echo
Ridge PNT products employ proprietary alternate navigation
technology to provide assured navigation in GPS-unavailable
environments. The company’s management and engineering team members
have extensive experience and expertise in PNT, and have
contributed to the development and commercialization of multiple
PNT technologies and systems, including the industry-leading
Geometrix® product line of E911 wireless caller location systems
deployed nationwide by U.S. carriers.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190708005112/en/
Globalstar Media Contact: Marcy O’Leary
Marcy.oleary@globalstar.com 985.335.1609
Echo Ridge Media Contact: George Marble
george.marble@echoridgenet.com 703.348.2737
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