December 29, 2017
Harbinger Sues for $2 Billion Alleging GPS Interference Intentionally Concealed 
Phil Falcone's Harbinger Capital is seeking $2 billion in damages for "massive fraud" alleging that Apollo Global Management and others sold it on a plan to launch a terrestrial broadband network while concealing test results showing the network would cause crippling GPS interference and be unlikely to be approved. ( more)

The top five most-read news articles in 2017 featured delays in efforts to add Galileo signal to U.S. military receivers, a possible GPS timing backup, Galileo clock failures, and more.
Bill Would Mandate Building of GPS Timing Backup 
Senate lawmakers have introduced a bi-partisan bill giving the Department of Transportation (DoT) responsibility for launching a GPS timing backup and a two-year deadline to get it up and running.  ( more )
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Satellite navigation signals from space are precariously weak and can easily be blocked, damaged, or compromised by a growing array of threats - including solar activity, man-made interference, malicious faking of GPS signals, and the manipulation of position and timing information. 
 
Delay Continues for Effort to Add Galileo Signal to U.S. Military Receivers
Though lawmakers have made clear their interest in having U.S. military receivers incorporate European navigation signals, an agreement to use the encrypted Galileo signal remains elusive and the normal military requirements process could substantially delay implementation. ( more)
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Ligado Plans GPS Augmentation Service 
Ligado, which has been in a standoff with the GPS community over interference issues for more than six years, is developing a new high-precision location (HPL) augmentation system for GPS. ( more )
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Comments on Galileo Waiver Praise Benefits, Flag Future Complications 
The Federal Communications Commission is being asked to choose between the immediate benefits of officially improving U.S. satellite navigation receivers and the possibility that, in doing so, it may raise interference levels in a neighboring band or make it harder to develop alternative uses for those adjacent frequencies. ( more )


ESA Puts Brave Face on Galileo Clock Failures   
At the traditional January media briefing in Paris yesterday (January 18, 2017), European Space Agency (ESA) General Director Jan Woerner was forthright in laying out the knowns and unknowns about the failed rubidium and hydrogen maser clocks onboard orbiting Galileo satellites, clocks that are absolutely crucial for accurate positioning.  ( more )