Tag: 5G

Seen & Heard: Shackleton’s ship, Beijing underground

“Seen & Heard” is a monthly feature of GPS World magazine, traveling the world to capture interesting and unusual news stories involving the GNSS/PNT industry.

Photo: dk1234/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

POSITIONING UNDERGROUND

A “BeiDou positioning system for subways” began construction March 20 on the Beijing subway capital airport express line. The project will cover a 30-kilometer-long section of the express line, including five stations. To provide positioning, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) will be combined with 5G for indoor positioning or in areas where the satellite signals are blocked. The system will improve the positioning accuracy in subways to less than 2 meters, making it available for vehicle dispatching, passenger transport organization and emergency response. In addition, it allows passengers to use their phones to navigate and position in complex environments in subway stations through three-dimensional navigation.

Image: ESA

THE SHAPE OF OCEAN WATER

The European Space Agency (ESA) investigated a technique to precisely measure sea-surface topography based on an idea submitted by the Institute for Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC). The technique involves GNSS reflectometry — signals that have been reflected off of the sea surface at very low angles. The ESA-funded activity involved developing a GNSS receiver and setting up an experiment in the Balearic Islands to collect GNSS signals reflected off the sea surface. The team linked the coherence of the reflected signals to wave height and elevation angle of GNSS satellites. The team then processed the signals for optimized measurements of the shape of the sea surface, useful in applications such as ocean current forecasting, climate research, ship routing, cable laying and debris tracking.

Image: Japan network/Ohta and Ohzono, Tohoku University

CELLPHONE NETWORK DETECTS EARTHQUAKES

A paper published Feb. 9 in Earth, Planets and Space by Japanese Earth science researchers analyzed the potential of a dense network of GNSS receivers, installed at cellphone base stations, to monitor crustal deformation as an early warning indicator of seismic activity. Results showed that data from a cellphone network can rival the precision of data from a government-run GNSS receiver network, while providing more complete geographic coverage. Japanese cellphone carriers have constructed networks of GNSS receivers to improve locational information for such purposes as automated driving. The study examined the potential of a GNSS network built by SoftBank Corp. to play a role in monitoring crustal deformation.

Photo: Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust

ENDURANCE IN POLAR ICE

Researchers have discovered the remarkably well-preserved wreck of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton’s ship, Endurance, a century after it was swallowed up by Antarctic ice. A team of marine archaeologists, engineers and other scientists used an icebreaker ship and underwater drones to locate the wreck at the bottom of the Weddell Sea, near the Antarctica Peninsula. The ship is at a depth of 3,008 meters, 4 miles south of the position originally recorded by navigator Frank Worsley. The expedition team used two Saab autonomous underwater vehicles to explore in a pre-programmed search pattern. After the ship was located, technicians swapped out sonar equipment for a high-resolution camera and a laser-surveying device to make highly detailed scans of the site.

April 28, 2022
Positioning system for subways begins construction in Beijing

Photo: dk1234/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

A “BeiDou positioning system for subways” began construction March 20 on the Beijing subway capital airport express line. The project will cover a 30-kilometer-long section of the express line, including five stations.

To provide positioning, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) will be combined with 5G for indoor positioning or in areas where the satellite signals are blocked.

The system will improve the positioning accuracy in subways to less than two meters, making it available for vehicle dispatching, passenger transport organization and emergency response. In addition, it allows passengers to use their phones to navigate and position in complex environments in subway stations through three-dimensional navigation.

“We will combine indoor and outdoor positioning in subways, that is, Beidou and its augmented reality technology will be used outdoors to achieve high-accuracy positioning, and indoor positioning technology integrated with 5G will be used to allow users to receive indoor positioning signals,” said Lin Luzhou, vice president of the GNSS and LBS Association of China.

The project is the largest indoor space navigation and positioning system in China, according to ECSN.com, and is expected to be finished within this year.

March 22, 2022
FCC, FAA and 5G

Last month we attempted to provide an overview of the issue concerning Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) licensing of C-Band radio spectrum, the subsequent fielding of wireless service for 5G phones and the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) announcements that potential interference could be possible between 5G signals and C-Band radio altimeters on commercial aircraft.

Not a big deal most people might say, as faster and improved phone and data messaging on their smartphones begins to kick in, while wireless companies continue roll-out of the new 5G service. But wait – don’t some of these people fly out on vacation and then back and land at local airports, and many of us fly around the US to visit friends and family, or each week shuttle around the country doing fly-in/fly-out business?

Well FAA and the wireless companies have largely collaborated during 5G service roll-out, and the FAA has been rapidly clearing a good number of rad-alt (radio altimeter) equipped aircraft to continue regular operations into most airports. And it seems that wireless companies have limited 5G fielding around some US airports by reducing transmitted power and/or limiting the density of 5G towers.

But where are we now? Seems some aircraft equipped with some types of rad-alt can fly into some airports – the FAA published a list for aircraft operators and pilots identifying who can do what and where. They also published several ADs (Airworthiness Directives) which limit several aircraft types from flying into certain airports, ‘prohibiting certain operations, which require radioaltimeter data to land in low visibility conditions, when in the presence of 5G C-Band interference’. For any aircraft passengers flying into LaGuardia on a foggy day or Boston when ice-fog hangs in the air – low visibility landing capability on modern aircraft is a blessing and a wonder which allows us to travel, even in bad conditions.

Seems that, typically – ‘many systems on (XY Type) aircraft rely on the radio altimeter, including autothrottle, ground proximity warning, thrust reversers and Traffic Collision Avoidance System,’ says one recent FAA AD.

That’s a whole bunch of critical systems which help an aircraft land. Many experts over many years have spent whole careers supporting the process of developing safety systems for auto-land and those which assist in the manual landing of aircraft. And the FAA and other agencies around the world have made every manufacturer prove and prove again that these systems work and work extremely, reliably, well.

Not that I’m against 5G – I have a 5G phone and I’m eagerly waiting for 5G applications to use on my phone. – the service seems to be very fast when in an area where 5G has been fielded. There are some wireless companies who have decided that 5G can by-pass cable in the distribution of TV channels – this is good stuff! Let’s have more of it!

But why on earth do we need to even partially compromise any aircraft systems which safely land aircraft?

Japan and France have been cited as counties in which 5G has not had any impact on the very same aircraft and their operations with which the FAA has found problems. Well, except those countries seem to have taken steps in the fielding of 5G which have protected their aircraft operations. The FAA quotes several mitigations used in those countries:

• Lower power levels

• Antennas adjusted to reduce potential interference to flights

• Different placement of antennas relative to airfields

• Frequencies with a different proximity to frequencies used by aviation equipment

Let’s hope that FAA’s intense efforts to test and clear rad-alts under the simulated intensity of C-Band interference around airports will continue unabated and that soon we aviation nuts will begin to breath more easily.

And let’s hope that the wireless companies cooperation, acceptance and mitigation steps – for which the whole aviation community is extremely grateful – that these very positive steps will directly lead to the whole issue fading away over time as old news.

And then a few words about ‘the war‘ which Russia just began against its neighbor and previous member of the USSR – Ukraine has been independent from Russia since the USSR ‘dissolved’ (Wikipedia) in 1991.

Ukrainians are pretty resilient and the news today is that a woman in Kyiv brought down a Russian drone by throwing a jar of pickles at it from her (high-rise?) balcony. This story of course isn’t verified, but it’s a small lightness in a very grim situation.

General Atomics armed MQ-9 Reaper (Militaryanalizer.com)

And its reported that Poland just placed an urgent operational requirement for armed MQ-9 Reapers in order to better protect its Eastern border with Ukraine. The border is around 530 miles long and is the main crossing point for the thousands of refugees fleeing the Russian onslaught. Poland has apparently already taken in almost a million people seeking safety.

Drones are now part of modern warfare and both East and West have pretty sophisticated, capable, weapon-carrying unmanned aircraft. But they also usually carry highly accurate satellite navigation and laser-guided weapons which may minimize unintended casualties – unless casualties are exactly what the Russians are after.

Really sad state of affairs which we all may still follow in detail through news reports, even though Russia has completely shut down social media and virtually outlawed on-the-ground news reporting.

March 16, 2022
Worry about PNT and national security, not just eLoran
Dana Goward, President, Resilient PNT Foundation

Letter to the Editor

February 2022

In November’s issue of GPS World, Editor-in-Chief Matteo Luccio opined that eLoran is part of the solution to GNSS vulnerability.

In January’s issue, he listed 10 questions from a PNT expert perhaps unfamiliar with eLoran.

These are important questions that must be asked of any technology, especially one under consideration to augment and back up our essential, but very weak and vulnerable, GNSS signals.

Yet the expert’s concerns pale in comparison to the essential questions about GNSS and PNT facing the United States and the West.

While I look forward to answers to the “10 questions” as a part of our ongoing professional dialogue, there are two important points of context we all need to keep in mind.

A Broad Consensus

First, Mr. Luccio’s assertion about eLoran being a part of the solution is more than reasonable. It also has a lot of impressive support from a wide variety of authoritative sources.

In 2008 and 2015, after much study each time, the U.S. government decided on and committed to building eLoran systems. Also, the U.S. government-sponsored National Space-based Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Advisory Board recommended eLoran in 2010 and 2018 as a part of securing the nation’s critical PNT capability.

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Transportation told Congress that wide-area terrestrial broadcast was a necessary part of a national PNT architecture. They later commented that infrastructure required per coverage area would be a key selection criterion for that broadcast technology. In other words, a system like eLoran.

Overseas, support for Mr. Luccio’s statement on eLoran is even stronger.
- The United Kingdom has long endorsed eLoran and operates an eLoran transmitter as a timing reference.
- Russia operates Chayka, a version of Loran.
- Available information points to Iran’s terrestrial PNT system being a form of Loran or eLoran.
- China and South Korea have long had Loran-C systems, and both are in the process of upgrading to the eLoran standard.
Each of these countries has publicly announced that it operates Loran/eLoran as a matter of national security in case space-based systems are jammed or destroyed, and to generally avoid overdependence on space-based PNT signals.

So, Mr. Luccio’s assertion was not at all revolutionary. Given all the studies, recommendations and existing uses, it would be surprising if he did not consider eLoran a part of the solution.

The Important Questions

Second, modern keying, encryption, authentication and other tech advances will help make all PNT technologies much safer and more resilient than they would have been decades ago, Loran and eLoran included.

Yet all will still have their strengths and weaknesses.

The most important questions we must ask are about how to establish the right level of national PNT security. These include:
- What is the right combination of technologies and systems with different delivery and failure modes that complement and reinforce GNSS and each other?
- How can the systems be efficiently and effectively implemented?
- How can the services they provide be easily accessed and widely adopted to ensure all parts of society are protected?
Countries such as China have answered these questions and are well down the path to implementation and wide adoption. Their robust national PNT architectures support easier rollout of 5G, rural broadband and other systems. They also serve as solid tech infrastructure upon which to build myriads of technologies and applications yet to be conceived.

Those nations not so advanced must accelerate their efforts. Otherwise, they must resign themselves to perpetually coping with GNSS vulnerabilities, including the possibility of attacks, and an eventual second or third place in the world because of their shortsightedness.

Dana A. Goward, President
Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation
March 8, 2022
Taoglas launches small 9-in-1 GNSS+5G antenna at MWC

The MA990 Guardian GNSS antenna. (Photo: Taoglas)

Taoglas announced its smallest 9-in-1 combination antenna with dual-band GNSS and high-performance 5G/4G, the Taoglas MA990 Guardian.

Taoglas made the announcement at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2022, which takes place Feb. 28–March 3; Taoglas is exhibiting at booth #5E32.

The Taoglas MA990 Guardian antenna is a small 9-in-1 combination antenna with dual-band GNSS (L1/L2) and globally supported cellular (5G/4G). It has been designed to support emerging market demand for modules that cover specific 5G/4G bands.

For example, two of its eight cellular MIMO antennas cover from 600 to 6,000 MHz, while another two are optimized for 3,000 to 6,000 MHz to cover high-band 5G and C-band/CBRS applications. The product is designed to operate on all carrier networks globally and is future-proofed to work with latest 5G routers in the market.

Housed in a low-profile, robust, IP67-rated waterproof, adhesive-mount external enclosure, the MA990 is designed for space-constrained, mission-critical applications, including asset and vehicle tracking, first- responder vehicles and high-definition video sources such as surveillance cameras.

The Taoglas MA990 also is highly customizable, including for any variation of antennas below 9-in-1 and the addition of Wi-Fi/single-band GNSS.

February 28, 2022
Europe’s Project NAV-SSHE to demo GNSS + 5G for critical applications
The Navigation Sensor Switching in Hostile Environments (NAV-SSHE) project aims to design, prototype and demonstrate new solutions for positioning, navigation and timing using 5G plus GNSS for critical applications in hostile environments. NAV-SSHE is supported by the European Space Agency (ESA).

Geolocation company M3 Systems Belgium is taking part in the project in collaboration with Telespazio Belgium. The project began in September 2021 and will last until January 2023.

In the context of NAV-SSHE, M3 Systems Belgium will implement both a GNSS and a 5G signal based on positioning engines. The output of both engines will be fused to provide a unique solution with increased robustness.

The complete system will be demonstrated on two real-use cases:
- autonomous vehicles on an airport platform (specifically autonomous lawn mowers)
- autonomous docking of vessels in port
The demonstrations will also be used to test potential use of these technologies for drone applications — specifically for the navigation system of the autonomous remotely piloted aircraft Boreal.
February 9, 2022
How GPS became core tech at CES

J. David Grossman

GPS drives the innovation economy

By J. David Grossman
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs
Consumer Technology Association

This January, the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) — owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) — returned to Las Vegas. As the premier global platform for innovation, each year CES showcases the latest and greatest consumer technologies, from smartphones and wearables to self-driving trucks and electric cars.

GPS continues to play a central role in the technology we use daily. At CES, GPS-enabled technologies are found in nearly every product category, including 5G, internet of things (IoT), smart cities, vehicle tech and fitness wearables.

They are also among the CES 2022 Innovation Awards honorees, such as a connected bracelet that can alert emergency contacts and a robot that can identify the difference between crops and weeds.

How did GPS come to play such a critical role in devices as diverse as drones and smartphones?

Over the past 40 years, GPS has transformed from its origins as a military technology to one that no consumer or business can live without. During the 1990s, CTA members such as Panasonic and Sony pioneered commercially available GPS receivers.

At CES 1998, Garmin introduced StreetPilot, described as “one of the first practical and affordable GPS-based road navigation devices” and paved the way for huge growth in the consumer GPS market.

By the 2000s, GPS was no longer just a stand-alone technology. Following new Federal Communications Commission requirements, GPS-enabled smartphones opened the door for all-in-one devices. These products could deliver turn-by-turn navigation or identify the location of a lost or stolen device. In more recent applications, GPS technology provides the foundation for ever-more-complex mobile applications.

Opening of the 2022 Consumer Electronic Show. (Photo: Consumer Technology Association)

Foundational Technology

The evolution of GPS reflects a broader industry trend: innovators integrate foundational technology into successive generations of products, spurring development of new products and services. We’ve seen the same pattern play out for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Near Field Communication (NFC), which enables the latest tap-to-pay technologies. Hundreds of companies simply would not exist without free, global access to GPS signals!

With GPS, ridesharing companies such as Lyft match drivers and passengers, lead drivers to a precise pick-up location, and chart out a safe and efficient driving route. GPS-integrated smartwatches allow runners and cyclists to easily track pace and distance, a huge boon for many of us in the pandemic era. Closer to home, GPS-enabled pet collars help families keep tabs on their furry friends.

Revolutionary

Beyond the technology we use daily, GPS technology is also revolutionizing such industries as agriculture. Thanks largely to GPS, centuries-old businesses are now technology companies. For instance, John Deere leveraged its 185-year history of building tractors and combines GPS with other location technologies to steer semi-autonomous tractors with centimeter accuracy. In addition to the time and efficiency benefits for farmers, technologies like these support sustainable agriculture by reducing the use of pesticides, water, seed and fertilizer.

John Deere held a Media Days press conference at Mandalay Bay during CES 2022. (Photo: Consumer Technology Association)

The success of GPS is important for our industry’s success, and I am proud of the role GPS plays in everyday life. Modernization of GPS, supported by the U.S. government and industry, will enhance the accuracy, reliability and resiliency of the technology, which in turn will ensure GPS remains central to the innovation economy.

January 13, 2022
Nestwave geolocation added to Sequans IoT platform

Nestwave is collaborating with Sequans to deliver accurate and efficient GNSS positioning for low-power internet of things tracking

The Nestwave IP provides the latest Sequans LTE-M/NB-IoT platform with geolocation. (Photo: Sequans)

Nestwave has announced that its technology has been selected by Sequans Communications S.A., provider of 5G/4G cellular internet of things (IoT) connectivity solutions. Specifically, Nestwave’s technology will add GNSS positioning to the Sequans Monarch 2 LTE-M/NB-IoT platform.

Integrated into the Sequans Monarch 2 GM02SP module, the Nestwave GNSS solution offers Sequans’ IoT customers accurate positioning with ultra-low-power consumption while minimizing component count, cost and size by removing the need for an external positioning chipset.

This makes the Sequans platform suitable for a wide variety of intermittent, power-limited tracking use cases including personal trackers, parcel and pallet location, and fleet trackers, as well as car, bike and scooter location and theft recovery. Cosmo Connected, a leader in urban mobility solutions, has already adopted the Monarch 2 GM02SP solution to reduce the cost and power consumption of its tracker products.

Nestwave’s technology allows geolocation to be added to existing IoT chipsets by implementing a GNSS receiver using the chip’s existing radio and computing capabilities. This eliminates the need for an external GNSS chipset and product redesign.

“Nestwave’s technology provides the smallest, most power efficient, and lowest component count solutions for IoT geolocation,” said Nestwave CEO Ambroise Popper. “Our strategic partnership with Sequans addresses the challenge of integrating accurate geolocation into compact, often battery-powered, low-cost IoT nodes and allows Sequans customers to benefit from higher performing, lower cost tracking solutions.”

“Leveraging Nestwave’s innovative technology to provide low-power GNSS on Monarch 2 widens its capabilities and makes many types of IoT tracker use cases more affordable because there is no need for additional positioning chips or modules,” said Georges Karam, Sequans CEO.

Nestwave IP has been integrated into a variety of chip architectures and on various DSP/CPU cores. In combination with Nestwave cloud services, this IP enables a very short time-to-first-fix, which allows for much lower power consumption in tracking use cases, without compromising on sensitivity or accuracy. The company’s technology roadmap includes the addition of 5G/4G cellular-based hybrid location functionality and solutions that will improve the accuracy of indoor tracking.

December 14, 2021
CGI to develop 5G for UAV positioning for ESA

Image: KENGKAT/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

CGI has been awarded a contract by the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop a proof of concept to enhance the navigational capabilities of airspace users in areas where traditional navigation systems alone cannot provide sufficient performance.

Future aircraft, such as UAVs and innovative air mobility solutions, will need to safely operate beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) within cities and other built-up areas, where GNSS signals are often disrupted.

The concept being developed by CGI and its partners leverages 5G networks, alongside traditional navigation systems, to provide hybrid-positioning solutions. In addition to secure communications for command and control of vehicles, and delivery of high-quality streaming video for BVLOS operations, 5G networks can also be used as a source for navigational data that will improve the accuracy, integrity and availability beyond that which satellite navigation systems alone can provide. The service will also offer greater resilience against natural or intentional disruption of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services.

“The UK is a leading innovator in aerospace and GNSS technology. It’s great to see the team developing resilient PNT solutions for aerospace leveraging existing communication infrastructure,” said Andy Proctor, UK Lead Delegate to the ESA Programme Board for Navigation & PNT Innovation lead at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). “The 5G-PNT project will enable and promote future aviation applications in the UK and globally, especially in the fast-growing future air mobility sector that will enable wider economic growth in many key sectors.”

“This exciting project brings together PNT and mission-critical systems integration expertise to advance the enabling technologies for future navigation applications,” John Hanley, Senior Vice President for UK & Australia Secure and Assured Space Solutions at CGI said. “The challenges posed by PNT service disruption have become a significant concern for operators and regulators and this project will help improve navigation capabilities to support both this challenge and further development of the aerospace sector.”

CGI will work with ESA, u-blox, the Advanced Communication, Mobile Technology and IoT (ACMI) Research Centre at the University of Sussex and air navigation service provider NATS, to define use cases and system requirements for a 5G-based complement to existing GNSS receivers. This hybrid navigation solution will be targeted at installation on any air vehicles intended to operate within the coverage of commercial 5G networks.

The project will culminate in a real-world demonstration of the technology, comparing its performance to that offered by GNSS alone.

October 25, 2021
Orolia joins with Keysight on advanced 5G GNSS testing

Integrated solutions address GNSS test requirements defined by 3GPP and major U.S. carriers

Orolia and Keysight Technologies Inc. have joined forces to advance 5G services by addressing GNSS test requirements defined by 3GPP and major U.S. carriers.

Working with Orolia allows Keysight to extend its 5G device test solution portfolio with advanced GNSS simulation capabilities. As a result, existing users of Keysight’s 5G device test solutions can easily address GNSS-related 3GPP protocol conformance and carrier acceptance test requirements by upgrading the software in Keysight’s E7515B UXM 5G Wireless Test Platform and combining it with Orolia’s GSG-8 simulator.

Skydel GSG-8 (Photo: Orolia)

The efforts of Keysight and Orolia will enable chipset and device makers to verify functionality to accurately position mobile phone users within a geographic area.

“Working with Orolia has enabled Keysight to deliver GNSS-based LBS test solutions for 5G protocol conformance and carrier acceptance validation,” said Muthu Kumaran, general manager of Keysight’s device validation solutions business. “Keysight’s LBS solutions also support assisted GNSS test functionality, enabling users to comprehensively address 5G new radio conformance requirements mandated by both the Global Certification Forum (GCF) and PTCRB.”

Accurate positioning is important in a wide range of sectors including healthcare, road and aerial transportation, entertainment and homeland security.

Future applications, such as drones and autonomous vehicles, will depend on highly precise positioning services for reliable navigation and safe transportation of people and goods. Mobile operators use GNSS technologies and non-GNSS technologies, such as beamforming, angle-based positioning and round-trip time to deliver personalized services and support emergency calls.

Keysight’s UXM 5G Wireless Test Platform. (Photo: Keysight Technologies)

The GSG-8 simulator, powered by the Skydel Simulation Engine, offers high performance, flexibility and an easy-to-use software-defined platform to deliver superior jamming and spoofing options that can help ensure accurate, continuous operations for critical applications during interference or signal loss. Automated and scalable, the simulator supports GPS, Galileo GLONASS and BeiDou, with upgrade paths for future constellations.

Keysight offers in-built positioning capabilities in the UXM 5G wireless test platform for non-GNSS positioning test requirements.

“We are pleased to collaborate with Keysight on developing solutions that improve PNT testing for 5G communication networks and devices,” said Lisa Perdue, Orolia’s Simulation Product Line director. “Our GSG-8 simulator, powered by Orolia’s Skydel Simulation Engine, offers ultra-high performance and unmatched flexibility. The easy-to-use software-defined platform also delivers superior jamming and spoofing options that can help ensure accurate, continuous operations for critical applications during interference or signal loss.”

September 21, 2021
Editorial Advisory Board Q&A: The benefits of 5G for GPS

How will widespread deployment of 5G most benefit GNSS?

Greg Turetsky

“The connectivity options that widespread 5G offer will accelerate multiple GNSS benefits. The high bandwidth is starting to encourage many into the RTK domain, but I think the bigger opportunity may come from the low power versions that enable IoT applications. The combination of the ubiquity of cellular connectivity with the low power of NB-IoT could truly accelerate the real time asset management sector all the way down to the package/pallet level.”
— Greg Turetzky

Allison Brown

“Widespread deployment and adoption of 5G is likely to continue to increase the demand for spectrum as broadband access continues to expand. The recent FCC decision allowing Ligado to operate terrestrial networks in bands near GPS is likely not the last decision that will result from this increasing demand. It is not clear to me that 5G deployment will ‘benefit’ GNSS and chipset vendors may need to prioritize developing products that have improved robustness in the presence of nearby interference.”
— Alison Brown

Miguel Amor

“The benefit of 5G will be seen in the long term, when 5G ranging capability is available. Hybrid positioning algorithms using both 5G and GNSS observations will provide significant positioning benefits in challenging urban environments and seamless navigation between indoor and outdoor environments. Applications across markets will see the benefits of hybrid 5G and GNSS navigation, but the real advantage lies in how this hybrid will enable the future of autonomous mobility. We will see both technologies working closer together to deliver a seamless and ubiquitous positioning solution.”
— Miguel Amor

Mitch Narins

“Like communications, the ability to precisely and securely position and navigate is an essential part of 21st century life. Together they must support both critical and non-critical operations. This requires finding a common understanding of spectrum needs and how to have the best of both. In the long run, end runs by either side may achieve myopic goals but will damage society. The problem is crying out for an enterprise-level systems engineering leadership that can plot our future spectrum course. Else, the push for spectrum will continue, fueled by ‘entrepreneurial spirit’ and often a lack of understanding of the importance of other spectrum uses.”
— Mitch Narins

Image:
KENGKAT/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

August 17, 2021
Orolia and Anritsu to launch 5G assisted GPS CAT solutions

Anritsu Corporation and Orolia announce immediate support of assisted GPS (A-GPS) test functionality to meet 5G New Radio (NR) Carrier Acceptance Testing (CAT) requirements for multiple North American operators on the Anritsu ME7834NR 5G mobile device test platform.

As part of the strategic partnership between the two companies, Anritsu leverages Orolia’s GNSS simulation capabilities to deliver A-GPS CAT testing platforms featuring the new Orolia GSG-SKY-ANR solution. The Anritsu MR7834NR supports A-GPS, FR1, FR2, FR1+FR2 NSA and SA US operator signaling requirements on the same platform.

The ME7834NR 5G NR mobile device test platform. (Photo: Anritsu)

The A-GPS simulation component of Anritsu’s ME7834NR-based test solution leverages Orolia’s GSG-SKY-ANR simulation platform. The GSG-SKY-ANR is powered by Orolia’s award-winning SKYDEL simulation engine, which delivers flexible, scalable, and efficient GNSS/GPS simulation solutions. The GSG-SKY-ANR GNSS simulator is exclusively available to Anritsu ME7834NR customers.

Anritsu ME7834NR A-GPS-enabled solutions for 5G NR CAT requirements are available immediately. The test solutions support the rollout of nationwide 5G networks by helping to ensure device compliance and optimum operability.

“Anritsu continues to address the needs of our customers globally,” said Shinya Ajiro, general manager of Anritsu Corporation. “By partnering with Orolia, a worldwide leader in GPS simulation technology, we are introducing a reliable, accurate, and cost-effective A-GPS CAT solution that conforms to operator requirements and delivers repeatable results. We remain committed to provide the validation tools necessary for mobile operators, device makers, chipset manufacturers, and test houses to verify designs and ensure product performance. This benefits everyone in the mobile ecosystem.”

“Orolia is proud to support North American operators through our partnership with Anritsu,” said Lisa Perdue, simulation director at Orolia. “Our resilient GPS simulation solutions deliver proven high-end capabilities for critical technology challenges such as the implementation of 5G.”

May 12, 2021