Government Moves To Dismiss Ligado’s $40 Billion Lawsuit
GPS signal interference at center of the decade-old controversy…
The United States government last week filed a motion in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims to dismiss Ligado Networks’ $40 billion lawsuit that alleges federal agencies blocked its legally assigned spectrum.
Ligado, in its October U.S. Court of Federal Claims legal filings, contends that the U.S. government, in “a multiyear misinformation and disparagement campaign” to conceal its activities, misappropriated the company’s licensed spectrum to support [U.S. Defense Department] systems without permission or compensation. In addition to the government, Ligado filed suit against the Department of Defense, Department of Commerce and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
Ligado’s president and CEO Doug Smith said that the Federal Communications Commission, in a 2020 decision, granted the company exclusive authority over the use and licensing of the spectrum, which operates near that of GPS.
In the motion filed last week, government lawyers contend that the court lacks jurisdiction because the Federal Communications Act established a remedial scheme, including Ligado’s taking claim that arises out of FCC licensing decisions. In addition, the motion says that even if the court has jurisdiction, “Ligado cannot establish a cognizable property interest in its FCC license.”
The motion quoted then Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who said that the “FCC is jeopardizing GPS signals that Americans rely on every day” after the FCC decision in 2020. “Simply put, the FCC is jeopardizing GPS signals that we rely on for both our national and economic security for the benefit of just one company and its hedge fund investors,” Inhofe said.
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Geotab To Provide 400,000 GSA Vehicles With Telematics
Geotab has announced a single-source General Services Administration contract to provide telematics solutions to more than 400,000 GSA-leased and owned vehicles. At our deadline, financial details were not disclosed.
The contract will enable GSA to leverage Geotab's Electric Vehicle Suitability Assessment (EVSA) and other fleet management tools to meet executive orders that focus on “sustainability and efficiency,” the company said. The GSA contract also includes Geotab's data sharing solution which allows for multiple data streams to allow agencies to manage a separate database of telematics data, the company said.
In 2019, Geotab was awarded the world's largest telematics contract by the GSA. At that time, GSA Fleet, a division of GSA, which provides centralized procurement for U.S. federal agencies, said that the Canadian company would equip 217,000 vehicles with Geotab’s fleet management technology.
While Geotab, which has 50,000 customers in 160 countries, is considered the dominant telematics fleet player in government markets, not everything has been smooth. Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims halted Geotab USA’s performance of a $300 million telematics fleet tracking device contract for the U.S. Postal Service, according to published reports. San Francisco-based Samsara protested the award last March.
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FCC Adopts 911 Location Routing Rules
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted rules last week that require wireless carriers to implement location-based routing of 911 calls and real-time texts to call centers nationwide. The FCC, which says that the rules will foster faster emergency response times, said that traditional 911 calls have been routed to call centers based on the location of a cell tower that handles the call.
However, the agency said that sometimes the nearest cell tower may be near a county or city border that requires the call to be routed to a neighboring jurisdiction, which can waste time and resources during emergencies.
“We are adopting rules requiring all wireless carriers to implement location-based routing nationwide for calls and real-time texts to 911 call centers. This means that when a call travels on IP-based networks, public safety officials will receive emergency calls based on the location of the person calling, not the closest cell tower,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, in a statement. “It means that back in Arkansas, that call I made to 911 in Little Rock would get answered in Little Rock and not in the town across the river.”
“With this approach, 911 voice calls and real-time texts will be routed based on the location of the caller as opposed to the location of the cell tower that handles that call. Using this precise location information to route 911 calls will result in millions more wireless 911 callers reaching emergency responders without the need for transfer or delay,” the FCC said, in a statement.
The FCC requires wireless carriers to comply with the location-based routing requirements within six months after the effective date of the final rules. This includes caller location information, at the time of routing, is “ascertainable within a radius of 165 meters at a confidence level of at least 90 [percent].”
AT&T T 0.00%↑ T-Mobile TMUS 0.00%↑ and Verizon VZ 0.00%↑ have launched location-based routing, in different stages of completion, the FCC said.
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Michelin Mobility and Mapbox Partner in UK
Michelin Mobility Intelligence has partnered with Mapbox to provide data-driven traffic solutions for transportation departments, municipalities and engineering and consulting firms in the United Kingdom. Michelin has been working in the United States and France on connected car and mobility data insights for government entities.
The partnership will allow road authorities to identify driving behaviors based on existing highway infrastructure. The insights will identify specific areas on a road network where managers should concentrate their efforts to increase safety, the companies say.
Some of the driving events and patterns include locations with an elevated risk of vehicle “interactions,” places with an elevated risk of head-on collisions and wrong-way drivers. In addition, the data will let transportation planners know about traffic bottlenecks on highways and off ramps.
Mapbox says its traffic data is drawn from a global user base of more than 700 million monthly subscribers. In addition, the company said the data detects movements of vehicles on the highway, which allows for more coverage than fixed sensors.
Other Location News
News tip? Send them to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
Top News:
💲 US Army Investing $100M in New 5-Year Agreement With U Mich To Boost Work on Autonomous Vehicle Technologies. “This potentially doubles the federal government’s financial investment with ARC since the last agreement, reached in 2019.”
✈ EASA, IATA Partner To Tackle GNSS ‘Spoofing’ Attacks On Planes. “The European Union Aviation Safety Agency and the International Air Transport Association are collaborating to tackle the risks posed by recent incidents of GNSS spoofing and jamming interfering with aircraft positioning data.”
💰 Amazon's $1B Investment Fund Eyes Last-Mile Tech, AV Startups. “Amazon’s AMZN 0.00%↑ $1 billion venture capital fund is expanding its investment scope in 2024, eyeing startups in the last-mile technology and autonomous vehicles space, according to the fund’s director.”
👌 BAE Systems’ enhanced M-Code GNSS Completes Critical Design Review. “The Military GPS User Equipment (MGUE) Increment 2 Miniature Serial Interface (MSI) program is part of a $247 million contract received in 2020 from the U.S. Space Force.”
🛫 Security Accreditation Board and EASA Establish Strategic Collaboration. “The EU Space Programme Security Accreditation Board (SAB) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency have entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Cooperation for collaborative efforts for oversight of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS).”
🛰 Industry Callout: Support for Space Delivery Team. “Defence Equipment & Support’s Space Delivery Team is inviting industry partners to demonstrate how they can support efforts to deliver Assured Alternative Position, Navigation & Timing (PNT) technologies to enable UK forces to effectively operate in GNSS denied or degraded environments across the world.”
Maps:
🙂 How Rashmi Verma's Mapmyindia Is Going Up Against Google, Apple Maps. “An early mover in India's digital mapping ecosystem, MapmyIndia has mapped nearly 18 million locations in the country, six million km of roads, and captured nearly 15 million addresses.”
🌎 The Sanborn Map Company Expands Global Presence with Launch of Sanborn Geophysics. The Sanborn Map Company has announced the opening of its Canadian subsidiary, Sanborn Geophysics, near Toronto.
📌 Waze Releases New iOS Update As Users Expect Much Bigger Features Or Else. “Waze version 4.101 landed on the App Store on January 29, promising a fix for a glitch that prevented railroad crossings from being shown correctly.”
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Connected and Autonomous Vehicles:
🙁 Report Details Failings at GM's Cruise as 2 Fed Agencies Probe Pedestrian Crash. “General Motors’ GM 0.00%↑ autonomous vehicle unit said Thursday it's being investigated by two federal agencies over a pedestrian accident with one of its driverless cars, the same day a third-party review of the October incident slammed Cruise LLC for "deficient leadership."
😕 GM To Halve Spending on Troubled Robotaxi Unit Cruise in 2024. “General Motors said it is cutting spending in half on troubled robotaxi unit Cruise, or by about $1 billion in 2024, but said it remains committed to the self-driving project.”
😒 Waymo Wants To Expand Its Driverless Robotaxis to the Peninsula, Opposition Rises. “Waymo’s proposal, submitted eight days after it received DMV approval to expand to the Peninsula, includes an operating area from San Francisco southward to include Sunnyvale, with the western boundary running along Highway 280 and the eastern boundary mostly along the Bay.”
🚛 Autonomous Trucks Prove Their Mettle on Historic Route 66. “Autonomous trucking developer Torc Robotics is test-driving its prototypes on historic Route 66 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as it works toward commercial deployment.”
😦 Apple Car Pushed Back To 2028. Autonomous Driving? Forget About It! “The story of the Apple car has turned into a running joke with a tragicomedy punchline. When it comes to electric cars, the company that changed the course of history with the iPhone can’t design its way out of a wet paper bag.”
Legal and Financial:
✔ Trimble Announces Capital Allocation Update. “We previously announced that we expect to repay $1.1 billion of debt and repurchase $400 million worth of shares with the proceeds from the proposed AGCO JV transaction, shortly following the close of the JV, which is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2024,” said Trimble TRMB 0.00%↑ CEO Rob Painter.
✔ Qualcomm Earnings Blow Past Estimates, Sending Stock Higher.
🏛 Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates Merger of PowerFleet. “The law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti are investigating the proposed merger of PowerFleet PWFL 0.00%↑ with MiX Telematics MIXT 0.00%↑…pursuant to which PowerFleet shareholders will end up owning just 35 percent of the combined company.” MiX also released its quarterly results…
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Location Industry Briefs
Send your news releases to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
Powerfleet and MiX Telematics to Hold Merger Shareholder Meetings
Powerfleet PWFL 0.00%↑ and MiX Telematics MIXT 0.00%↑ have announced shareholders meetings on Feb. 28, 2024, to vote on the proposed business combination between the companies. The transaction is expected to close at the beginning of April, subject to required shareholder approvals. The combined business will be branded as Powerfleet, with its primary listing on Nasdaq, the company said.
Contact: Andrea Hayton, Powerfleet, (610) 401-1999, ahayton@powerfleet.com; Jonathan Bates, MiX Telematics, 44 7921 24289, jonathan.bates@mixtelematics.com.
Spirent and dSPACE Partner to Deliver Integrated Automotive Test Solutions
Spirent Communications and dSPACE have partnered to offer real-time positioning scenarios for Autonomous Driving Hardware-in-the-Loop test systems (AD-HIL). The latest partnership offers customers a turnkey solution by combining the dSPACE AD-HIL to include the Spirent GSS7000 GNSS simulator, the company said.
The enables autonomous driving systems developers to validate vehicle behavior in location-critical scenarios using real satellite signals, the company said. The GSS7000 simulator, with high fidelity RF signal generation and low latency response, becomes an additional sensor working in parallel for validation of driver assistance algorithms, the company said.
Contact: Spirent Communications, www.spirent.com.
Parkopedia Partners With ChargeHub
Parkopedia has partnered with ChargeHub to integrate ChargeHub’s 80,000-strong network of charging stations across the U.S. and Canada with Parkopedia’s Payment Platform. The partnership allows drivers access through their vehicles to a number of chargers with coverage across North America, including Parkopedia’s information on parking and charging, dynamic availability data and charging transactions for EV drivers, the company said.
ChargeHub’s PassportHub provides the largest roaming hub in the US and Canada, with more than 20 CSO partners and coverage of more than 70 percent of open network chargers across North America, the company said. Parkopedia services are currently integrated with more OEM systems than any other connected services provider in the world, the company said.
Contact: Adam Calland, Parkopedia, 44(0)7838219129, adam.calland@parkopedia.com, www.parkopedia.com.
Melissa Partners with Esri
Melissa has announced a partnership with Esri to support with optimized address data that improves ecommerce operations, the company said. With Esri’s location services, Melissa will be able to offer data quality tools to promote faster, error-free order processing, the company said. These location services include address data that allows retailers to improve customer experience, optimize deliveries, prevent fraud and gain better insight within GIS applications, the company said.
Contact: Greg Brown, Melissa, (800) 635-4772 ext. 1130, greg.brown@melissa.com, www.melissa.com.
Axon Acquires Fusus
Axon AXON 0.00%↑ has acquired Fusus, a company specializing in real-time crime center (RTCC) technology. This news builds upon a strategic partnership launched in May 2022, the company said.
Fusus' technology enhances Axon's real-time operations that provide law enforcement professionals with location mapping, escalation alerts, livestreaming, real-time and post-incident visibility, allowing swift decision-making and responsive actions, the company said.
Contact: Victoria Keough, Axon, press@axon.com, www.axon.com.
Quectel’s EG915U Module Receives Approval From Egypt’s NTRA
Quectel Wireless Solutions has announced that its EG915U module has received approval from the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) of Egypt. Approval from NTRA says that the EG915U complies with the regulatory standards and requirements set by the Egyptian government, the company said.
Quectel's EG915U is a series of LTE Cat 1 modules for machine-to-machine (M2M) and IoT applications. The module offers10Mbps downlink and 5Mbps uplink, the company said.
Contact: Quectel, media@quectel.com, www.quectel.com.
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Woolpert Acquires Bermello Ajamil & Partners
Woolpert has acquired Miami-based Bermello Ajamil & Partners (BA), a full-service architecture, engineering, planning, and landscape architecture firm with 160 employees. The combination of Woolpert and BA creates an ecosystem of integrated maritime solutions that leverages architecture, marine engineering, modeling, strategic consulting, and geospatial services, the company said. These include acquiring topographic, bathymetric, and hydrographic data and imagery along coastlines and the near-shore environment.
Contact: Woolpert, woolpert.com.
Teledyne Displays Hardware, Software at Geo Week in Denver
Teledyne Geospatial will exhibit its latest hardware and software solutions in lidar survey and mapping at Geo Week, in Denver, Feb. 11-13. The company will display its Galaxy Onboard for airborne mapping.
Another solution, the Optech Galaxy T2000, is suitable for crewed fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters, the company said. In addition, the Optech CLS-A solution will be offered for collecting engineering-grade geospatial point clouds from UAV or helicopter platforms, the company said.
Contact: Jennifer Parham, Teledyne, Jennifer.Parham@teledyne.com, www.teledyne.com.
OCTO Telematics Offers Smartphone Crash Detection
OCTO has launched Crash Detection for mobile phones without the need for driver interaction. Crash Detection turns smartphones into an active sensor for detecting severe crashes and automatically requesting assistance, the company said. Crash Detection provides additional information related to a crash event, enabling a more efficient claims management process for insurers, right from the early first notice of loss (FNOL), the company said.
Contact: Adriana Zambon, 39 339 399 56 40, adriana.zambon@octotelematics.com, www.octotelematics.com.
Garmin Launches NAV/COMM Radios
Garmin $GRMN rolled out a new series of COMM and NAV/COMM radios. The GTR 205 Comm radio and GNC 215 NAV/COMM radio are affordable solutions for customers that feature an easy-to-read full color LCD display, intuitive user interface and worldwide frequency database, the company said.
Designed for both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, the GTR 205 and GNC 215 are radios that can serve in a variety of aircraft types and panel installations, the company said. Navaid lookup allows the GNC 215 to find the desired frequency from its built-in worldwide database when entering a navaid
Contact: Mikayla Minnick, Garmin, (913) 397-8200, media.relations@garmin.com.
Spireon Rolls Out Flex Battery Tracker for Unpowered Assets
Spireon has launched a battery-operated tracking device, the Flex Battery Tracker. The tracker is marketed to companies with unpowered assets such as trailers, equipment, storage containers, vending machines and more. Battery Tracker features increased tamper detection and GPS/cellular registration, ensuring the security and location of assets, particularly machinery and equipment stationed for extended periods, the company said.
In other company news, Solera (Spireon’s parent company) launched LoJack LE that allows car dealerships to monitor and track their vehicles. Starting this February, the LoJack LE app will be available for download, the company said.
Contact: Cassandra Harris, Solera, cassandra.harris@solera.com, www.solera.com.
Norwegian Microsatellite Achieves Optical Satellite-to-Ground Communications Link
The NorSat-TD demonstration microsatellite, developed by Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) for the Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA), has successfully transferred data to a ground station using optical communications technology. The accomplishment is a first for a Dutch-built laser communication device and among the first achieved by a microsatellite, the company said.
Launched in April 2023, NorSat-TD was the sixth mission developed by SFL for Norway. Designed primarily as a maritime ship tracking mission, the demonstration microsatellite also carried experimental payloads for enhanced GPS positioning, spacecraft tracking by laser and iodine-fueled propulsion.
Contact: Robert Zee, SFL, (416) 667-7400, info@utias-sfl.net, www.utias-sfl.ne.
Consumer Asset Tracking Devices in Europe and North America Reached 12.5 million in 2022
The number of active consumer asset tracking devices in Europe and North America reached 12.5 million at the end of 2022, according to a new research report from Berg Insight. Growing at a CAGR of 18.4 percent, the number of units in active use is estimated to reach 29.2 million units by the end of 2027. Leading providers of family and child tracking products and services include Smartcom Mobility Solutions, Smith Micro Software, Life360, Xplora Technologies and Verizon $VZ, the report said.
Contact: Johan Fagerberg, Berg Insight, 46 31 711 30 91, johan.fagerberg@berginsight.com.
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People
Robert Burke, of Sherrills Ford, N.C., died Jan. 27. Burke was Safran director of business development. Previously, he was director of sales—positioning, navigation and timing for Spirent Communications.
Trimble TRMB 0.00%↑ has announced appointed Kara Sprague and Ron Nersesian to its board of directors. Sprague is the executive vice president and chief product officer at F5 and Nersesian is the chairman of the board of directors of Keysight Technologies.
Parkopedia has appointed Iris Xu as China general manager.
Mappedin has named DJ Hayden vice president of partnerships - location technology.
Emnify has appointed Lynda Smith to its board of directors.
IoT module maker Blues has appointed Alistair Fulton, who headed LoRa activity at Semtech, as its COO and vice president.
Ericsson ERIC 0.00%↑ has appointed Chafic Nassif as its new head of market area North East Asia and senior vice president.
Bill Sharpe has been named senior account executive at HERE Technologies.
NextNav NN 0.00%↑ announced the appointment of John Muleta to its board of directors.
Woolpert has hired cloud alliance manager Zack Schreiber to help manage its longtime partnership with Google GOOG 0.00%↑ and its expanding Google Cloud relationship.
Xona Space Systems co-founder and CTO Tyler Reid received the 2023 Per Enge Early Achievement Award from the Institute of Navigation for his outstanding innovations in the development of LEO satellites for providing an enhanced global positioning service.
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