LightSquared vs GPS

There’s a major industry spat in the USA barely getting a mention here. In an increasingly bitter dispute,  a hedge-fund backed start-up called LightSquared has spent billions building a new national wireless broadband network. Good news you’d think but LightSquared plans to use frequencies reserved for satellites which, the US Government reports, will jam 75% of GPS receivers. Unsurprisingly the GPS industry and users are up in arms. This isn’t just about SatNav they say - LightSquared’s plans threaten a system at the heart of everything from agriculture and surveying  to aviation safety and marine navigation. The US FCC is due to rule this month. The story has intrigue, claims and counter-claims of leaks, fraud, corruption, insider dealing and political bias. Who said GPS was boring?

Galileo off the ground at last

The much heralded EU answer to GPS – Galileo – has finally got off  the ground with the launch on 21^st Oct of the first two satellites of a 27 satellite constellation that will make up the navigation system promising cheaper and more accurate location data across Europe. Roll on 2015.

Switch off, turn on

Around the world, TV services that have been broadcasting for decades are being switched off. Old analogue signals are being cleared from the airwaves and replaced with more efficient digital TV signals.

The result of this means that lots of the radio spectrum is being freed up. New services can take advantage of the space that is coming available. This part of the TV spectrum is also highly desirable since it covers frequencies that travel well over great distance and through solid objects such as walls. In the UK Ofcom will auction this space in 2012.

Mobile phone operators are the most keen to use the new frequencies to increase provision of mobile broadband for smart phones and tablet PCs. They have seen an explosion in demand for mobile services mainly driven by new consumer devices.

Studies show mobile broadband delivers the greatest economic and societal benefit. It’s still a long way from a ‘guaranteed everywhere’ service many businesses need, but systems such as GeoField will be able to take advantage of improved connectivity and bandwidth for data updates.