Russian navigating devices on sale

From correspondents in Moscow
May 24, 2007

NAVIGATING devices using Russian satellites will appear in the shops this year as the first alternative to the widely used GPS network of the United States, officials said overnight.

"The individual devices receiving signals from Glonass will appear in shops in our country by the end of this year," Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said.

The Glonass satellite network, which is also used by the Russian military, was set up to compete with the US' GPS network, which is widely used around the world, and Europe's planned Galileo system.

But development of the system has lagged behind schedule, and Mr Ivanov conceded that it would only have global coverage - with a planned total of 24 satellites - by 2009.

The Russian devices, which will also receive signals from the GPS network, can be used by planes, ships, armoured vehicles and trains, as well as by individual users, Mr Ivanov said.


Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21785808-1702,00.html

Space official says Glonass to equal precision of GPS by 2011

MOSCOW REGION, May 24 (RIA Novosti) - A senior space official said Thursday Russia's Glonass global positioning system should reach the same precision level as the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) by 2011.

Glonass is designed for both military and civilian use, allowing users to identify their positions in real time.

A deputy director of the Federal Space Agency, Yury Nosenko, speaking at a news conference with top designers of Glonass in the Moscow Region, said: "Our aim is to improve the precision of the Glonass system's operations for civilian users down to one meter by 2011. The American GPS system is already working at this precision level."

When the improved Glonass-K satellites with a 10-year service life are complete, the system will be as good as GPS, and users will be able to use both systems, Nosenko said.

A total of $380 million in 2007 federal budget funds was allocated for Glonass, compared to last year's $181 million. The first launch under the Glonass program took place October 12, 1982, but the system was only formally launched on September 24, 1993.

The satellites currently in use are of two modifications - Glonass and its updated version Glonass-M. The latter has a longer service life of seven years and is equipped with updated antenna feeder systems and an additional navigation frequency for civilian users.

Nikolai Testoyedov, the head of NPO Reshetnev, a state-controlled company that builds satellites for Glonass, told the news conference that six Glonass-M satellites will be put into orbit by Proton carrier rockets by the end of 2007. Another six satellites will be added to the Glonass system in 2008, and the first two improved Glonass-K satellites will be launched in 2009.

The future modification, Glonass-K, is an entirely new model based on a non-pressurized platform, standardized to the specifications of the previous models' platform, Express-1000.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070524/66028312.html

Ukraine and Russia to cooperate in GLONASS

RBC, 24.05.2007, Kiev 09:53:46.Ukraine and Russia have discussed the prospects of cooperation in setting up ground infrastructure to make it possible for Russian and Ukrainian consumers to use GLONASS and other navigation satellite systems, Ukrainian National Space Agency General Director Yury Alekseyev told journalists today following a space industry meeting in Moscow on May 17-18.

According to Alekseyev, practical steps have been planned to start work on establishing ground infrastructure, including a trial launch of a fragment of the system on Ukraine and Russia's bordering territories, Crimea and the Krasnodar region, as early as 2008.

Source: http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20070524095346.shtml

Putin makes Glonass navigation system free for customers

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed Friday a decree on the Glonass navigation system to provide the service free for customers, the Kremlin press service said.

Glonass is a Russian version of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), which is designed for both military and civilian use, and allows users to identify their positions in real time. The system can also be used in geological prospecting.

“Access to civilian navigation signals of global navigation satellite system Glonass is provided to Russian and foreign consumers free of charge and without limitations,” the presidential decree reads.

In line with the decree, satellite navigation equipment bought for federal bodies of executive power and organizations subordinate to them should operate using Glonass signals.

Putin charged the Federal Space Agency with coordinating work to maintain, develop and use the system for civilian and commercial needs.

The head of the space agency said in April Russia will bring the number of satellites comprising its Glonass navigation system to 18 by the end of 2007.

Anatoly Perminov said then a full orbital group of 24 satellites will be ready for global coverage by the end of 2009, but even with 18 satellites in orbit it will be able to start providing services for military and civilian users, covering Russian territory.

A total of $380 million has been appropriated for Glonass from the federal budget in 2007, and $181 million in 2006.

The space agency head also said that Glonass will be fully integrated with the U.S. GPS and European Galileo satellite navigation systems.

“We will ensure the compatibility and complimentary use of the Russian Glonass system with the American GPS, and later with the European Galileo systems,” he said.

The first launch under the Glonass program took place October 12, 1982, but the system was only formally launched September 24, 1993.

The satellites currently in use are of two modifications - Glonass and its updated version Glonass-M. The latter has a longer service life of seven years and is equipped with updated antenna feeder systems and an additional navigation frequency for civilian users.

A future modification, Glonass-K, is an entirely new model based on a non-pressurized platform, standardized to the specifications of the previous models’ platform, Express-1000.

Glonass-Ks’ estimated service life has been increased to 10-12 years, and a third, “civilian” L-range frequency has been added.

Source: RIA Novosti

First Russian PDA For Military Purposes

Russian research-and-production company “Technica-Service” has announced its plans for 2007 – launching production of a palm computer “Kulon” in hardened shell and with embedded GPS receiver.

First Russian portable digital assistant “for military purposes” is based upon PX270 processor with frequency of 624 MHz. The device also has a VGA-display, and palm owners will be able to choose between two operational systems: Windows CE.net 5.0 and Windows Mobile 2005.

GPS receiver is already built in the palm, and developers claim to produce PDAs with receivers for both GPS and GLONASS navigation systems.

However, developers said nothing about whether their device will have any components, produced in Russia.

Source: http://www.russia-ic.com/news/show/3968/

Ivanov urges measures to enhance competitiveness of GLONASS

SYKTYVKAR, May 15 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov has urged safeguarding Russia’s interests in space exploration and development, including the competitiveness of the GLONASS satellite navigation system.

“We must and we shall work seriously on our GLONASS system,” Ivanov told a student audience at a college in Syktyvkar.

“We should literally elbow our way through to safeguard our interests. We should work really hard, if we want to be competitive,” Ivanov said, adding that the GPS navigation system was already operational and its European counterpart Galileo was in the creation phase.

Source: http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11529482&PageNum=0

NovAtel Inc. Licensed to Sell Galileo Receivers

CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- May 14, 2007 -- NovAtel Inc. (NASDAQ: NGPS), a precise positioning technology company, has received a license valid for 10 years from the European Space Agency (ESA), which allows NovAtel to sell receivers that track Galileo signals. Galileo is the European Union's state-of-the-art Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which is expected to be fully operable in 2010 to 2012 with up to 30 satellites orbiting the earth. It is designed for both civilian and government purposes and will be controlled and operated by civil management.

NovAtel's EuroPak-15a production standard receiver allows customers to not only receive GPS L1/L5 signals, but to also add the additional capability for Galileo L1/E5a tracking. "NovAtel's 10-year license granted by ESA is renewable, and allows NovAtel to sell Galileo/GIOVE-A capable receivers. This full license replaces a previous temporary agreement granted by ESA in March of this year. We are now able to move forward with commercial sales of Galileo-capable receivers," said Tony Murfin, NovAtel's Vice President, Business Development. "The EuroPak-15a is able to receive signals from the initial GIOVE-A test satellite, and will also support future planned In-Orbit Validation (IOV) signal structures."

NovAtel received this license based on its participation in the Galileo Receiver Chain (GRC) program. NovAtel has contributed to the Galileo development program since 2000, and the EuroPak-15a receivers were initially developed under a contract granted by the Canadian Space Agency in 2004. Recently, NovAtel announced that it was the first company outside Europe to be accepted as a Full Member of Galileo Services, a non-profit organization made up of a consortium of businesses and agencies involved with Galileo satellite system downstream technology and services.

About NovAtel

NovAtel Inc. (NASDAQ: NGPS) is a leading provider of precision Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) components and subsystems that afford its customers rapid integration of precise positioning technology. The Company's mission is to provide exceptional return on investment and outstanding service to our customers. An ISO 9001 certified company, NovAtel is focused on developing quality OEM products including receivers, antennas, enclosures and software that are integrated into high precision positioning applications worldwide. These applications include surveying, Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping, precision agriculture machine guidance, port automation, mining, marine and defence industries. NovAtel's reference receivers are also at the core of national aviation ground networks in the USA, Japan, Europe, China and India. The Company is committed to providing its customers with advanced positioning technology through significant R&D investment focusing on the modernized Global Positioning System (GPS), the revitalized Russian GLONASS and the emerging European Galileo satellite systems, as well as the integration of additional complementary technologies such as Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs). For more information, visit www.novatel.com.

Certain statements in this news release, including those about the Company's future plans and intentions, future performance and market acceptance of its Galileo technology and expected shipments into the Galileo system, long-term growth prospects, levels of activity or other future events, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on management's current expectations regarding NovAtel's future growth, results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures, competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Wherever possible, words such as ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''expect'', ''may'', ''could'', ''will'', ''potential'', ''intend'', ''estimate'', ''should'', ''plan'', ''predict'', "forecast" or the negative or other variations of these words, or similar words or phrases, have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements, including operating results of the Company's joint venture Point, Inc. ("Point"), impact and timing of large orders, U.S. dollar to Canadian dollar exchange rate fluctuations, establishing and maintaining effective distribution channels, certification and market acceptance of NovAtel's new products, credit risks of customers and the Company's joint venture Point, pricing pressures in the market and other competitive factors, maintaining technological leadership, timing of revenue recognition in connection with certain contracts, the ability to maintain supply of products from subcontract manufacturers, the procurement of components to build products, product defects, the impact of industry consolidations, vulnerability to general economic, market and business conditions, competition, environmental and other actions by governmental authorities, reliance on key personnel and other factors described in the Company's Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2005 and other SEC filings, many of which are beyond the control of NovAtel. These factors should be considered carefully and undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and NovAtel assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.


Contacts:
NovAtel Inc.
Tony Murfin
(403) 295-4512

NovAtel Inc.
Sonia Ross
(403) 295-4532
Website: www.novatel.com

SOURCE: NovAtel Inc.

Topcon to Acquire Sokkia

Mar 24, 2007
GPS World

Topcon Corp. announced it has come to a "basic agreement" to acquire Sokkia Company Limited (Sokkia). If approved by the Japanese Fair Trade Commission (FTC), Sokkia will become a Topcon subsidiary and will be renamed Sokkia Topcon. Because both companies are headquartered in Japan, the transaction is subject to approval by the Japanese FTC with respect to anti-trust regulation. Topcon states that further details will be released after the Japanese FTC has commented on the proposed acquisition.

The announcement states the reason for the merger of the two companies is to maintain an edge in the increasingly competitive worldwide surveying instruments market. Competitors Leica Geosystems AG and Trimble Navigation Ltd. have been acquiring companies to increase market strength for some time. The announcement also gives increased competition from Chinese manufacturers as another driver for the Sokkia acquisition.

Surveying instruments (Positioning Business) is the largest business segment of Topcon Corp., as it produced approximately $400 million in revenue in fiscal year 2006 (ending March 2006). Other business segments include Opthalmic/Medical, Industrial, and Optical Devices instruments. Companywide revenues for FY2006 were approximately $913 million. According to the company, it implemented a mid-term growth strategy in FY2006 targeting annual revenue of $640 million for the Positioning Business segment.

Sokkia's sole business is surveying instruments. Its worldwide FY2006 revenues for the same period were approximately $187 million.

Both companies have formidable worldwide distribution channels. No details have been released about how the acquisition will affect the two channels, although the announcement mentions that the Sokkia brand will be maintained for an interim period.

NovAtel Role. An area of ambiguity is Sokkia's joint venture with NovAtel, Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. NovAtel designs GNSS technology that Sokkia incorporates into its GNSS surveying products through a joint venture named Point, Inc., established in 1999. Sokkia owns 51 percent of Point while NovAtel owns 49 percent.

Topcon has a solid investment in GNSS technology, which began with its acquisition of the former Javad Positioning Systems in July 2000. Since FY2004, Topcon has experienced record revenues for each year and strong growth in the GNSS receiver sector, while becoming a leader in producing receivers that use both GPS and Russian GLONASS satellite signals.

Following the Topcon announcement, NovAtel CEO Jon Ladd responded that "NovAtel and Sokkia have existing contracts in place under which NovAtel develops and supplies GPS technology and products to our joint venture Point and ultimately to Sokkia. We do not expect the proposed combination of Topcon with Sokkia to affect our business relationship with Sokkia, for the foreseeable future. We continue to work with Sokkia management to develop new GNSS technology that will be incorporated into the Point/Sokkia product family." According to NovAtel, the Point agreement is effective until July 2009.

Furthermore, Hitoshi Ito, president of Sokkia Co., Ltd., stated, "We value our relationship with NovAtel and do not expect there will be a material change to our relationship."

According to NovAtel, the Point venture accounted for approximately $9 million of NovAtel's $67 million total annual revenue in FY2006.

Source: http://sc.gpsworld.com/gpssc/article/articleDetail.jsp;jsessionid=GHjkDVyTgvQmYPPVybyGxR7mGhCYWG3pJYfz1mSnhrTKbXKnj6Rv!284891640?id=414512

Russia in talks with other countries on joint Glonass use

MOSCOW, December 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is negotiating with other countries on the possible joint use of Russia's global positioning satellite system Glonass, the head of the Russian Space Agency said Tuesday.

Glonass, a Russian version of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), is designed for both military and civilian purposes, and allows users to identify their positions in real time. It can also be used in geological prospecting.

"We are in active talks with India, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and other countries on the joint use of the Glonass space system," Anatoly Perminov said.

"As far as other countries are concerned, we are primarily in talks with the United States and the European Space Agency to prepare agreements on the use of Glonass jointly with GPS and Galileo [satellite navigation systems]," Perimov said.

He said Glonass has been in an intensified stage of development since the president urged for active work on the system.

"The country's leadership is paying particular attention to the development of the system," Perminov said. "The Russian president personally set the task of not only actively developing it [the system], but also putting it into operation as soon as possible."

Last December President Vladimir Putin told the government that he wanted Glonass ready by 2008, as had been originally planned.

"We hope that by late 2007 or early 2008 we will have 18 satellites in orbit, and by the end of 2009 a full orbital group of 24 satellites," Perminov said.

In November Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Russia will lift all precision restrictions, from the start of 2007, in the use of Glonass to enable accurate and unlimited commercial use of the military-controlled global positioning system. Current restrictions limit the accuracy for civilian users of Glonass to 30 meters.

Source: http://en.rian.ru/world/20061205/56499172.html

Glonass Cheaper To Build Than GPS Says Putin

by Staff Writers
Moscow (RIA Novosti) Mar 13, 2007

The global navigation system Glonass should be cheaper and of better quality than the GPS system, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday. "You know what attention I pay to Glonass, and I hope relevant attention will be paid to it," Putin told Cabinet members.

Glonass is a Russian version of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), which is designed for both military and civilian use, and allows users to identify their positions in real time. The system can also be used in geological prospecting.

In December 2005, President Vladimir Putin ordered the system to be ready by 2008, and First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said Glonass would be available to domestic users for military as well civilian purposes by the end of 2007.

The head of Russia's Federal Space Agency, Anatoly Perminov, said earlier that Russia is also in talks with the United States and the European Space Agency to prepare agreements on the use of Glonass jointly with the GPS and Galileo satellite navigation systems.

The agency plans to have 18 satellites in orbit by late 2007 or early 2008, and a full orbital group of 24 satellites by the end of 2009, he said.

[img]Ivanov said late last year that Russia will lift all precision restrictions on Glonass beginning in 2007, which will enable accurate and unlimited commercial use of the military-controlled global positioning system.

Current restrictions limit the accuracy for civilian users of Glonass to 30 meters.

The first launch under the Glonass program took place October 12, 1982, but the system was only formally launched September 24, 1993.

Andrei Kozlov, the head of the Reshetnev Research and Production Center in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia's leading spacecraft manufacturer, said earlier the Glonass system currently has 13 satellites in orbit.

The satellites currently in use are of two modifications - Glonass and its updated version Glonass-M. Glonass-M has a longer service life of seven years and is equipped with updated antenna feeder systems and an additional navigation frequency for civilian users.

A future modification, Glonass-K, is an entirely new model based on a non-pressurized platform, standardized to the specifications of the previous models' platform, Express-1000.

Glonass-Ks' estimated service life has been increased to 10-12 years, and a third "civilian" L-range frequency has been added.

Tests on Glonass-K satellites are scheduled for 2007.

Source: http://www.gpsdaily.com/reports/Glonass_Cheaper_To_Build_Than_GPS_Says_Putin_999.html

Europe’s GPS Loses Signal

EU satellite navigation crisis deepens as deadline nears.
May 9, 2007

By Peter Purton

The European Union is scrambling to find a way to save its planned satellite navigation system, dubbed Galileo, as it becomes clear that members of the consortium managing the project are failing to reach agreement in the eleventh hour of an approaching deadline.

On Monday, consortium members appeared far from an agreement, saying they would rather stay away from the project than be faced with financial risks without guarantees of returns. It now looks inevitable that the consortium will lose the European Union’s backing, coming as a May 10 deadline nears to set a framework and appoint a leader.

The development is significant because Galileo is Europe’s answer to the United States’ Global Positioning System (GPS) and Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), both military funded and controlled.

A deadline had been set for Aena, Alcatel-Lucent, Deutsche Telekom, EADS, Finmeccanica, Hispasat, Inmarsat, and Thales to seek agreement on a legal structure and a chief executive (see Europe’s GPS System at Risk).

Now it appears as if few alternatives remain except to scrap the project or inject significant new public funds into it. Neither option is likely to appeal to European leaders as the first would mean a major image fiasco and the second a very unpopular use of tax money.

“Our view is that the current scenario to put Galileo into place cannot work,” said Michael Cercone, spokesman for European Commission transport commissioner Jacques Barrot. The Commission is due to present alternative plans to European transport ministers May 16. As well as pumping more money into it or dumping it altogether, another option would be to take over the project directly.

Initially the European initiative was opposed by the U.S. government, but opposition has since been relaxed. If Galileo goes ahead it will be the first non-government satellite positioning system and will be compatible with both GPS and GLONASS.

Galileo has been in planning since 1999 and it had been hoped that it would be in operation by 2008. Even if it does somehow go ahead it now looks as if a fully operational commercial service may not be available before 2014. And the initial hope that the public would pay only a third of the anticipated costs of 3.6 billion euros ($4.9 billion) looks lost.

Source: http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=22230&hed=Europe%E2%80%99s+GPS+Loses+Signal&sector=Industries&subsector=Communications

European GPS rival transmits first navigation data

Bangalore (India) - Galileo, a European project that aims to create a civilian global navigation infrastructure, has reached a major milestone as the European Space Agency (ESA) today reported that the Giove-A satellite has transmitted the first navigation message.

Giove-A is the first of 30 satellites that the ESA and the European Commission plan to deploy at an altitude of 23,222 km to build “Galileo”, a global navigation system that is compatible with the American GPS and the Russian GLONASS. However, while Galileo will be compatible with these two older systems, it does not have a military background and is intended to secure Europe’s independence from GPS and GLONASS.

According to the ESA, a first navigation message including a navigation signal and a navigation message was uplinked to Giove-A on May 2 from the Guildford ground station. The organization explained that the message was similar to those that will be sent by the operational Galileo system and contained the information needed to measure the distance from the satellite to the user receiver


Illustration of the Giove-A satellite

Giove-A has been transmitting general signals since January 12 of last year, ESA said.

According to the organization, Galileo will be able to provide navigation data with an accuracy of about 1 meter or about 3 ft. When fully installed, Galileo will consist of 30 satellite, organized at an inclination of the orbital planes of 56 degrees. 27 of the satellites will be operational and three will act as active spares. ESA expects that the navigation system will provide coverage up to the North Cape.

Galileo is expected to be fully deployed by 2012, with operation beginning in 2008. Compared to today’s GPS, Galileo will also have a commercial component, allowing technology firms to create fee-based, “value-added” services for the system.

Source: http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/31911/113/