Ligado Sues U.S. Government for $39 Billion
Says DoD is using spectrum that it has exclusive authority over…
Ligado Networks is suing the U.S. government for $39 billion, saying it has blocked its plans to use assigned spectrum. The company, in its 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.
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.
“The DoD misled the FCC, Congress and many others in its unconstitutional taking of our property and ongoing obstruction of our operations and, in doing so, deprived millions of Americans from access to much needed 5G services,” Smith said, in a statement.
In addition, Ligado says that along with the DoD’s actions were supported by the U.S. Commerce Department and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to block the company from developing its allocated spectrum for its proposed terrestrial 5G services.
The battle, because of frequencies close to those used by GNSS receivers, between Ligado and DoD, industry groups and GPS companies has been going on for a decade. The FCC, on Jan. 19, 2021, voted down a proposal by U.S. government agencies to stop its decision that allowed Ligado to deploy a nationwide mobile broadband network. At that time, such companies as Lockheed Martin LMT 0.15%↑, Iridium Communications IRDM -7.76%↓, Air Line Pilots Association, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, International Air Transport Association and Airlines for America also filed petitions to ask the FCC to reconsider Ligado’s bid.
Expert nationwide installation services for fleet technologies.
TomTom Reports Quarterly Loss, Partners With Terra Visus
Driven by stronger automotive division sales, digital mapping company TomTom [TOM2] last week reported smaller than expected losses for its third quarter. The company reported a quarterly operating loss of more than $8 million—which is down from a 17.5 million euro loss at the same time a year ago.
During the quarter, TomTom launched new maps of North America and Europe. The company also integrated its connected services in the Stellantis Peugeot E-3008. In addition, the company launched a ChatGPT plugin for location technologyand signed a traffic deal in the U.S. with StreetLight.
“We performed well in the third quarter, with our location technology business recording sustained year-on-year growth. Enterprise revenue was in line with our expectations and our automotive business showed healthy underlying performance,” said TomTom CFO Taco Titulaer, in a statement. “For yet another successive quarter, year-on-year automotive operational revenue growth outperformed car production trends in our core markets.”
In other company news, TomTom has partnered with Edinburgh, Scotland-based Terra Visus to provide global coverage data through Terra Visus’ street-level data platform. The partnership also enables Terra Visus to offer its customers access to TomTom’s street-level data, geo-referenced spherical imagery and lidar.
The D-Day Visitor's Handbook: Your Guide to the Normandy Battlefields and WWII Paris by Kevin Dennehy and Steve Powers. The D-Day Visitor’s Handbook includes everything you need to know to plan and make your visit to the site of the biggest seaborne invasion in history. This compact guidebook not only describes the most significant land invasion of World War II, but provides detailed battlefield maps and tours, identifies monuments and attractions, and locates museums and historical sites to make your planning easier and less stressful.
The guidebook uses location technology from what3words to locate monuments, museums and other attractions. Get your guidebook today!
OMF Releases Second Version of Open Map Data
Overture Maps (OMF) this week released its second version of open map data that includes more than 1.39 billion building footprints from several data providers. The open data set combines and uses data from Esri Community Maps, OpenStreetMap and Microsoft MSFT 0.00%↑.
Map developers can build on the growing collection, which includes the introduction of Global Entity Reference System (GERS) IDs, for such use cases as property management, risk assessment, economic development, 3D visualization and more others.
GERS IDs have been assigned to more than 1.6 million building across several cities in North America, South America, and Europe, according to OMF. The Overture Buildings with GERS IDs are currently available in Seattle; Spokane, Wash.; Macon, Ga.; and Charleston, S.C.
In addition, FEMA, in collaboration with other federal agencies, is providing USA Structures, which includes 75 million structures that are larger than 450 square feet. This data can be used in flood insurance mitigation and emergency prep and response, OMF said.
Dollar Flight Club is offering their Lifetime Membership for $129 (usually $1,690) for the next 24 hours. Lifetime Members get up to 90% off all flights for life! Fly roundtrip to Paris from $320, Hawaii from $197, and more. Get 93% off lifetime or try for free now.
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 Regulators Investigate GM's Cruise Division Over Incidents Involving Pedestrians in Roadways. “The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the reports involve automated driving system-equipped vehicles encroaching on pedestrians present in or entering roadways, including crosswalks.”
☹ Bay Area Robotaxi Company Slashes More Jobs for Third Time This Year. “Waymo, the robotaxi company whose presence has expanded across San Francisco in recent months, has slashed jobs for the third time this year.”
😕 Qualcomm Will Layoff 1,258 Workers in San Diego and Santa Clara, Beginning in December. “In response its soft third quarter, Qualcomm QCOM 0.00%↑ CEO Cristiano Amon said the company is focusing on its booming automotive business.”
🤨 Stellantis Announces Cancellation of CES 2024 Plans. “With a focus on preserving business fundamentals in the wake of ongoing UAW negotiations, Stellantis is canceling its CES 2024 display and presentations.”
🚚 Cummins Collaborates With Partners on Open Telematics Architecture. Cummins CMI 0.00%↑ announced its collaboration with the Eclipse Foundation, Microsoft MSFT 0.00%↑, and industry partners to offer the Open Telematics Framework. It allows each company to write their telematics application once and deploy it to any telematics hardware running the Open Telematics Framework.
🤞 Army Conducts Fifth Annual Positioning, Navigation and Timing Assessment Experiment. “The fifth annual PNT Assessment Experiment, also known as PNTAX, provided an opportunity for participants to evaluate new tools and systems and align their understanding of how future warfighters can operate successfully in settings where access to standard GPS and communications functionality may be limited.”
🌍 ESA’s Satnav Test on Remote Island Lab. “ESA’s navigation testbed vehicle participated in a campaign organized by Norwegian governmental authorities to assess the impact of jamming and spoofing on satnav systems and test innovative technologies for detection and mitigation.”
😦 GPS Jamming Disrupts Location Applications for Israeli Mobile Users. “Israeli mobile phone users have experienced significant disruptions in their location applications due to intentional GPS jamming by the Israeli security system. These disruptions have notably affected navigation applications like Waze and even the Home Front Command's missile warning system.”
Maps:
🗺 Apple Maps – is Something Big Cooking? “I’m willing to bet one of you a dollar that it’s going to be something to do with that newly re-fangled concept that Apple has been plugging: ‘Spatial Computing’.”
👍 Google Announces Mind-Blowing Google Maps Feature to Preview Routes Before Navigation. “The feature combines street-level imagery supplied by Street View and aerial photos available from the satellite to create a digital, realistic version of the world.”
📱 Google Maps for Android Will Finally Get a Great Feature the iPhone Has Had for Years. “There is one Google Maps feature that iPhone users have had for years, and Android users still don’t. That’s built-in real-time weather information for the location you might be searching for.
👌 Google Maps Speed Limit Data Is More Thoroughly Vetted Than You'd Think. “To keep this data precise, Google doesn't solely rely on the official data from local governments, even though this data provides default speed limits for various road types.”
🙂 Mapbox Earns "Navigation Technology Solution of the Year" in 2023 Autotech Breakthrough Awards. “For a second consecutive year, Mapbox has been named the “Navigation Technology Solution of the Year” in the fourth annual AutoTech Breakthrough Awards.”
😯 This CarPlay GPS Bug Makes Apple Maps Unusable and Dangerous. “The bug is simple: When connected via CarPlay, the GPS functionality is unreliable”
Reach nearly 14,000 subscribers and 100,000 more via social media by advertising in Location Business News!
We can promote your webinar, service or product to a focused group of industry executives. Email us at info@driverlessreport.com for more information, or click here to view our one-page media kit.
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles:
💲 Didi's Autonomous Vehicle Arm Raises $149M From State Investors. “Previously backed by SoftBank, Didi Autonomous Driving announced that it will receive up to $149 million in funding from two investors affiliated with the municipal government of Guangzhou.”
🤔 Foxconn and Nvidia Are Building 'AI Factories' To Accelerate Self-Driving Cars. “Nvidia NVDA 0.00%↑ and Foxconn are working together to build so-called “AI factories,” a new class of data centers that promise to provide supercomputing powers to accelerate the development of self-driving cars, autonomous machines and industrial robots.”
🚗 How Will Driverless Cars 'Talk' to Pedestrians? Waymo Has a Few Ideas. “The company’s autonomous vehicles are using visual cues, recorded audio messages, and, most recently, LED displays on its roof dome to communicate intent to other road users.”
👍 New Apple Maps Experience Comes to Denmark and Greece. “The new Apple Maps experience – which include more detail, better navigation, and Look Around – has today launched in two new countries, Denmark and Greece. This brings the total number of countries covered to 35.”
Drones:
🛩 New Tech Can Guide Drones Without Relying on Cameras, GPS. “A battery-less RFID tag could do the job just as well as a GPS landing module. The researchers have further refined how the tag works.”
Financial:
Connect your teams in ClickUp.
Turn TBD into EOD with the world’s most powerful productivity tool. With ClickUp, you can: Automate sprints and routine tasks, Streamline communication in one Workspace, Recover cash spent on multiple work apps! Sign up and switch to ClickUp in minutes!
One tool does it all—ClickUp offers all the features you need in one platform: Tasks, Docs, Whiteboards, Dashboards, Goals… and more! Switch today to explore our 100% customizable features!
Location Industry Briefs
Send your news releases to kdennehy@driverlessreport.com. Go to www.locationbusinessnews.com for more news and an archive of stories.
Swift Navigation Launches Partner Program
Swift Navigation has launched its Swift Partner Program that includes mobile network operators (MNOs), chipset and module manufacturers, system integrators, and application platform providers. With the launch of its Partner Program, the company said it is simplifying the process to enable precise location and deliver user experiences in any geography, scale and unit economics. Swift is offering partners its Skylark Precise Positioning Service that delivers centimeter-accurate positioning through carrier-grade networks, the company said.
Contact: Swift Navigation, www.swiftnav.com/partners.
What3words Partners With Aston Martin
What3words has partnered with Aston Martin to bring its location technology to the DB12. The technology will première in the new DB12 as part of a new Aston Martin infotainment system.What3words Partners With Aston Martin
What3words has divided the globe into a grid of 3m x 3m squares, and given each one a unique combination of three words. This precludes difficulties in navigating to specific building entrances, those without addresses and secluded residences, the company says. Both the DB12’s navigation system and the new Aston Martin connected app will feature what3words destination input.
Contact: What3words, prteam@what3words.com.
Point One Joins STMicroelectronics Partner Program
Point One Navigation has joined the STMicroelectronics Partner Program to deliver navigation and positioning solutions for ST customers in the United States and Western Europe. Developers have a quicker path to create navigation systems by using ST Teseo GNSS Solutions, which include Point One’s API software and RTK network, the company said.
Applications include agriculture, construction, last-mile delivery, and even autonomous vehicles such as cars, trucks and robo-taxis. The partner program includes Point One’s Polaris Cloud that enables high-precision GPS and computer-based localization, the company said.
Contact: Mark Shapiro, for Point One Navigation, (619) 249- 7742, mshapiro@srs-techpr.com, www.pointonenav.com.
U-blox Cellular IoT Modules Certified
Thalwil, Switzerland-based u-blox [UBXN] has announced that its LARA-R6 LTE Cat 1 and LARA-L6 LTE Cat 4 cellular module series have become the first in the market to be successfully tested to comply with the RED article 3.3 d/e/f requirements. This testing used the ETSI EN 303 645 standard and helped the company to achieve RED cybersecurity certification.
U-blox said it is the first module maker in the market to have its LTE Cat 1 and LTE Cat 4 cellular modules certified by the European Union's Cybersecurity Certification.
Contact: Natacha Seitz, u-blox, 41 76 436 0788, natacha.seitz@u-blox.com.
GMV Partners With BMW Group for Positioning Technology
GMV has been chosen by BMW Group to provide positioning technology for automated driving. GMV’s positioning solution has two components--an onboard Positioning Engine software and a GNSS Corrections Service providing the vehicles with corrections to the Broadcast GNSS Ephemeris, the company said.
GMV offers its precise positioning solution, GMV GSharp, for automotive that provides accuracy, safe and reliable positioning information (position, velocity, and heading), the company said.
Contact: GMV, marketing@gmv.com, www.gmv.com.
Trimble Opens Labs, Makes Donation
Trimble TRMB 0.00%↑ and The Ohio State University have announced the opening of two labs for the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). The two new Trimble Technology Labs provide students with access to agriculture and construction technologies used today by professionals in the industry, the company said.
In other company news, Trimble announced a donation of $100,000 to World Food Program USA’s corporate partner program, ERASE HUNGER, raising funds in support of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP)’s school meals program around the world.
Contact: Trimble, www.trimble.com.
Geotab Launches Order Now in Australia with Sensata INSIGHTS
Geotab has announced the launch of the Geotab Marketplace Order Now program in Australia featuring Sensata INSIGHTS as its first participating partner. Order Now allows customers to order solutions from the Geotab Marketplace ecosystem.
The Sensata KP2 is a modular HD road-facing dash cam that offers road and optional driver-facing visibility and features an advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS).
Contact: Hanna Corrente, pr@geotab.com, www.geotab.com.
BlackSky Wins Air Force Research Contract to Track Vehicles in Real Time from Space
BlackSky Technology BKSY 0.00%↑ has won a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory AFWERX Direct to Phase 2 contract. The contract, funded by the Space Development Agency, is to build an automated target recognition service that will gather and combine radio frequency and electro-optical satellite sensor data to track mobile assets.
In turn, the secure information will be securely distributed to remote devices and analysts worldwide, the company said.
Contact: Pauly Cabellon, BlackSky, pcabellon@blacksky.com, www.blacksky.com.
Pole Star Global Acquires StratumFive Group
Pole Star Global has acquired maritime tech company StratumFive. The company’s Podium5 features fleet monitoring, regulatory compliance, performance analytics and voyage optimization. The combination expands Pole Star's industry fleet coverage and complements its vessel compliance and tracking solutions, with PurpleTRAC and MDA, the company said.
Contact: Pole Star Global, pr@polestarglobal.com, www.polestarglobal.com.
Create a FREE ManyMe Account.
Lytx Expands AI-Powered Geospatial Solutions
Lytx has announced its Weather Hazard Alerts, available to all clients as a project within the Lytx Lab tab in their accounts. The AI-powered geospatial technology, built on the Lytx Vision Platform, was developed within Lytx Lab, the company said.
Weather Hazard Alerts overlays NOAA weather warnings onto fleet maps, allowing managers to set alerts based on specific geographic, timeframe, and weather criteria, the company said. The Weather Hazard Alerts feature is available now to all fleet managers within the U.S. Lytx network, the company said.
Contact: Jason Andersen, Lytx, corpcomm@lytx.com, www.lytx.com.
Europe and North America Reached 30.4 Million Insurance Telematics Policies
Berg Insight says that European insurance telematics policies reached 13.6 million in 2022’s 4th quarter. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9 percent, this number is expected to reach 20.7 million by 2027. In North America, the number of insurance telematics policies is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.7 percent from 16.8 million in 2022 to 29.2 million in 2027. The United States, Italy, United Kingdom and Canada are still the largest markets in terms of insurance telematics policies, the company said.
Contact: Johan Fagerberg, Berg Insight, 46 31 711 30 91, johan.fagerberg@berginsight.com.
RedSOS Survey Says 60 Percent of Americans Feel Unsafe
A RedSOS survey reveals that 6 out of 10 Americans feel unsafe on a daily basis. To help reduce this stress, RedSOS offers 24/7 private emergency assistance on their mobile app that features a GPS link for location.
First responders can be notified of a user’s emergency after the RedSOS’s emergency response center is notified, the company said. Friends and family also received GPS location at the same time.
Contact: RedSOS, www.redsos.com
Netradyne Launches Driveri One
Netradyne has launched of its Driveri One video telematics device that uses Geotab’s analytics platform and user interface. The solution features fleet tracking capabilities, with visibility into trips and activity. Near real-time GPS tracking allows customers to select areas on the map to create zones that trigger notifications when a vehicle enters and leaves the location, the company said.
Contact: Sarah Duckett, Netradyne, (415) 519-4161, sarah.duckett@netradyne.com, www.netradyne.com.
Road Ready Trailer Telematics Offered as Option on MAC Liquid Tank Trailers
Road Ready and MAC Liquid Tank Trailers have agreed to offer Road Ready advanced trailer telematics as a factory-installed option on MAC LTT trailers. Road Ready trailer telematics solutions require the installation of a proprietary telematics device named the Road Ready Master Control Unit, the company said.
Fleets can customize how often each asset communicates its location status, the company said. Fleets can set up custom landmarks to create geofences for established routes, triggering alerts to help fleets protect their assets and customer cargo, the company said.
Contact: Mark Johnson, Clarience Technologies, (312) 375-4964, mjohnson@clariencetechnologies.com, www.roadready.com.
VHC Health Signs Multi-Year Renewal of With Phunware
Phunware PHUN 0.00%↑ has announced a five-year contract renewal to license its digital front door and location-based services to VHC Health. The company’s digital front door features wayfinding to help navigate VHC Health’s main campus and parking location, among others.
Contact: Phunware, (512) 693-4199, press@phunware.com.
Nauto Launches Telematics Solution Capabilities
Nauto has announced new telematics capabilities for its vehicle safetly solution that includes vehicle tracking, utilization, misuse and maintenance planning. Nauto’s solution offers AI-powered driver and vehicle safety capabilities, on a single device and a single software platform, the company said.
Contact: Nauto, www.nauto.com.
Chat with your enterprise databases using secure generative AI and empower business users in your team to do their own data analyses in seconds.
People
Garmin GRMN 0.00%↑ announced that co-founders Min Kao and the late Gary Burrell have been named to the National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF).
Aaron Thompson has joined Trimble Autonomy TRMB 0.00%↑ as the vice president of research and development.
Jobs
Mid-Market Sales Account Executive. Azuga.
Contract Content Writer. Point One Navigation.
Regional Sales Manager- Americas. Trimble.
Field Marketing Manager. CameraMatics.
Senior Legal Counsel. Placer.ai.
Job Openings. u-blox.
Click HERE to Join our growing Location Business News LinkedIn Group!