Iridium
Communications Inc. announced
the official launch of Satellite
Time and Location (STL), an
alternative or companion to
traditional location-based
technologies, and declared it ready
for use. For the first time,
end users now have access to
accurate and resilient position,
navigation and timing (PNT)
technology that works anywhere on
the planet, even indoors. Due to the
unique architecture of its 66
cross-linked, low-earth orbit
satellite constellation, Iridium®
is the only network that has the
global coverage and reliability
needed to deliver this highly
unique, robust and cost-effective
solution to the market.
Since the inception of GPS
technology in the late 1970s, it has
been recognized as a powerful and
critical tool for businesses and
consumers worldwide.
Unfortunately, with this
recognition, the GPS infrastructure
has become targeted by those looking
to take advantage of its known
vulnerabilities for illegal, and
even criminal, purposes. STL
technology deployed through Iridium
satellites and in end user
receivers, can work to verify GPS,
Glonass, Galileo and other
navigation services, and, if needed,
substitute for these services should
they become compromised. STL can
protect, toughen and augment
traditional GPS technology by
providing a position or timing
source when GPS signals are degraded
or unavailable. It can also provide
an alternative source of time to
check the integrity of a GPS signal.
This is essential for any kind of
critical infrastructure that depends
on GPS as a source of PNT
information.
Iridium is working with Satelles,
a division of iKare Corporation with
offices in Herndon, Va. and Redwood
City, Calif., as its primary
technology partner to deliver this
solution through Iridium's powerful
paging channels, which are able to
reach small, low-cost receivers in
nearly any environment, even inside
buildings. Satelles provides
technology and services to companies
that are commercializing this
capability to protect assets,
authenticate users, or do other
important functions reliant on GPS
time and location.
"We are very excited to launch
yet another highly innovative
solution that only our network can
enable, which is now available
today," said Matt Desch, chief
executive officer at Iridium. "We
think STL can help solve an
important and growing problem for
governments and businesses, and
serve as a platform for continued
innovation. With STL, we are
introducing a global capability that
is already in space, technologically
ready for use and is independent of
any particular location technology.
The team at Satelles has been able
to leverage the unique capabilities
that our network offers, to create a
solution that can ultimately be
integrated into almost any kind of
platform, including other Iridium
machine-to-machine (M2M) devices,
heavy machinery, automobiles and
even the power grid, to name a few.
Once implemented, STL could
revolutionize the way the world's
largest, global companies and
governments operate and manage cyber
security."
The technology has already been
productized into a chip set about
the size of a postage stamp and can
be easily embedded into devices of
all kinds. Due to STL's signal
strength it can help make GPS
systems more difficult to "spoof,"
which has been a growing risk for
the current GPS infrastructure. The
solution transmits its signals
through Iridium's satellite
constellation to deliver a unique
code to each position on the ground
that can be independently
authenticated, proving that a device
is located in a specific place in
the world. This enables applications
to be "location aware," allowing
operation or access only if the user
is in the location expected.
"We are honored to have been able
to partner with Iridium to bring
this technology to market," said
Michael O'Connor, chief executive
officer at Satelles. "The robustness
and complexity of their network
allowed us to create a unique
solution that is in high-demand and
solves many problems that exist
today."
Greg Gutt, president and chief
technology officer of Satelles adds,
"Commercial users are now able to
use STL to deliver trustworthy
timing solutions for critical
infrastructure, such as LTE
networks, transactional data centers
and the power grid. Military and
government users can also acquire
these commercial off-the-shelf
(COTS) solutions for the Department
of Defense and other government
applications."
"In addition to enhancing the
security and resiliency of GPS, STL
technology can be embedded into
servers anywhere in the world to
geo-fence data and applications,
providing trusted time and location
data as an independent factor for
end-point authentication," said Gutt.
To date, the STL solution has
been successfully demonstrated
across multiple sectors including
the military, academia and
commercial applications. This
technology is available today and
will be supported by Iridium NEXT,
the Iridium's next-generation global
satellite constellation, which is
scheduled for completion by late
2017.
