The US Department of Transportation put out an announcement of the 3rd of June informing companies that they are looking to conduct field demonstrations of technologies capable of providing backup and/or complementary positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) in the event of a temporary disruption to GPS. In response to this Globalstar and Echo Ridge have informed the U.S. Department of Transportation that the companies have developed and are prepared to participate in and support a live field demonstration of a stand-alone positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) capability that can provide accurate and reliable PNT services to backup and/or complement GPS in case of GPS unavailability or unreliability.
Globalstar and Echo Ridge informed the DOT that all required elements are available now for the demonstration of a backup system that provides diversity of frequency, constellation, and signal to the existing GPS system, as well as independent ground and management infrastructure.
The Globalstar-Echo Ridge system is based on new Augmented Positioning System (APS) technology that 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; 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 system. APS technology has been successfully demonstrated in diverse environments and incorporates multiple features that boost availability and reliability to produce accurate PNT information under circumstances that can challenge or disable GPS/GNSS technology. The technology can work independently of GPS and other global navigation satellite systems and is designed to maintain high performance in a wide range of operating environments.
The proposed system responds to increasing user concerns about GPS vulnerability and the critical importance of accurate PNT information to support essential services and infrastructure.
