LightSquared,
a wholesale carrier building a nationwide wireless broadband network, announced
its association with PCTEL, a global provider of antenna solutions, to resolve
concerns over high precision GPS receivers.

PCTEL has
developed an antenna that will allow existing high precision users to retrofit
their GPS devices to make them compatible with LightSquared’s network. This
antenna provides high precision GPS users with another in a series of solutions
to make their equipment LightSquared-compatible.

“PCTEL
has developed GPS antenna solutions that have solved a variety of interference
issues that others said were unsolvable. Their wideband antenna provides an
efficient and elegant solution for thousands of high precision device
users,” said Martin Harriman, executive vice president of ecosystem
development and satellite business at LightSquared.

PCTEL’s
antenna solutions address applications including public safety, agriculture,
construction and aviation. The new antenna will be independently tested with a
range of receivers at the world-renowned Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs in Murray
Hill, NJ.

“Our
current work with LightSquared will enable wideband high precision users to
have a state-of-the-art solution for their unique positioning needs. We look
forward to developing other multiband and wideband high rejection GPS antenna
products with LightSquared to bring high precision technology to new
levels,” said Jeff Miller, senior vice president of sales and marketing,
PCTEL.

PCTEL is
the third company to collaborate with LightSquared on a solution to
high-precision GPS interference issues. Earlier this month, GPS device maker
Javad GNSS announced the design of antennas that can be retrofitted onto
existing devices and the development of new receivers that are compatible with
LightSquared’s network. Additionally, Partron America has created a filtering
component that costs $6.

These
solutions will undergo extensive National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) testing in
the coming weeks.  Preliminary testing results leave LightSquared
confident that the debate over its network and interference from GPS signals
will be resolved.

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