LEAK: GOVERNMENT REPORT STATES LIGHTSQUARED INTERFERES WITH MOST GPS SYSTEMS

According to leaked reports from government test drafts, LightSquared's technology causes "harmful interference" to the majority of GPS receivers. Addressing the allegations, LightSquared called the conclusions "patently false." It added, "We are outraged by the illegal leak of incomplete government data to news organizations. This breach attempts to draw an inaccurate conclusion to negatively influence the future of LightSquared and narrowly serve the business interests of the GPS industry." The company believes tests are inconclusive because they were completed at power levels up to 15 times higher than those that would be used in practice. By ignoring its commitment to work at a lower level to minimize interference, the company believes the conclusions are erroneous. It's important to note, however, that the NTIA will make the final determination about how many devices passed or failed, rather than the documents makers. And that assessment has not yet been made. Despite the ongoing dispute, the company has already managed to secure 30 partners ranging from Sprint to Best Buy, all hoping to cash in on a promised $7 per gigabyte price point. The FCC has given LightSquared the go-ahead to build the network, but will not allow for activation until approving the final round of government testing.

JUDGE RULES USE OF GPS TO TRACK CHEATING SPOUSE LEGAL IN NEW JERSEY

The use of a GPS device to track your whereabouts is not an invasion of privacy in New Jersey, a state appellate court panel ruled today. Based on the battle of a divorcing Gloucester County couple, the decision helps clarify the rules governing a technology increasingly employed by suspicious spouses — many of whom hire private investigators.

“For the appellate division to say that it’s not an invasion of privacy is a wonderful thing for the private investigation business,” said Lisa Reed, owner of LSR Investigations in Flemington. “It’s been something we’ve been haggling over for some period of time.”

No state law governs the use of GPS tracking devices, and the ruling, which does not affect police officers, is the first to address the issue, said Jimmie Mesis, past president of the New Jersey Licensed Private Investigators Association.

The court ruled in the case of Kenneth Villanova, a Gloucester County sheriff’s officer who sued private investigator Richard Leonard of Innovative Investigations Inc., hired by Villanova’s now ex-wife in 2007.

After Villanova evaded Leonard, who was following him, on several occassions, he recommended that Villanova’s wife buy a GPS tracking device. She put it in the glove compartment of the GMC Yukon-Denali, which they both owned but was primarily driven by Villanova, the court papers said. It was in place, undetected, from July 14 to Aug. 24, 2007. Two weeks into the GPS tracking, Leonard found Villanova leaving a driveway in his car with a woman who was not his wife, the decision said.

Villanova initially sued his wife for invasion of privacy and tried to include Leonard in that case as well. Villanova eventually dropped the claim against his wife in the divorce settlement but pursued his suit against Leonard. Villanova claimed the tracking device invaded his privacy and caused him ”substantial and permanent emotional distress,” though the appellate judges noted he sought no medical treatment or advice.

Appellate Judge Joseph Lisa, Jack Sabatino and Carmen Alvarez said Villanova had no right to expect privacy because the GPS tracked his movements on public streets. “There is no direct evidence in this record to establish that during the approximately 40 days the GPS was in the ... glove compartment the device captured a movement of plaintiff into a secluded location that was not in public view, and, if so, that such information was passed along by Mrs. Villanova to (Leonard),” Lisa wrote.

GOOGLE TRANSIT NAVIGATION BETA INCLUDED IN GOOGLE MAPS UPDATE

Earlier this afternoon, Google pushed Maps v5.7 to the Android Market. The app's Transit Navigation (beta) feature brings GPS stop-by-stop nav to public transit systems in over 400 cities around the world, helping you find the subway or bus stop, then letting you know exactly when to get off as you ride. There are obvious benefits to using this in a foreign city, where alert-enabled (English!) directions could potentially save you hours of frustration.

In a test some users left their office to brave the daylight in NYC, walking a block to the nearest subway station en-route to Times Square. The app worked well up until they reached the bottom of the first staircase, where it lost cell reception and its GPS fix.

Engadget video below:

RUMOR: SPRINT LIGHTSQUARED SIGN 15-YEAR LTE AGREEMENT

Apparently Sprint's none too concerned about recent complaints from the likes of John Deere and the federal government about LightSquared's potential interference with GPS signals. A letter obtained by Bloomberg reveals that Sprint has signed a 15-year deal with Falcone and co., agreeing to share network expansion costs in return for a slice of the sweet LTE service. According to the document, "LightSquared and Sprint will jointly develop, deploy and operate LightSquared's 4G LTE network." The report comes on the heels of rumors of a $20 billion agreement between the two companies. Unfortunately for both parties, no amount of billion dollar bills will shake impending scrutiny from the FCC.

GOVERNMENT REPORT FINDS LIGHTSQUARED LTE INTERFERS WITH GPS

Following up on reports and concerns about LightSquared's possible interference, a government study has found that the outfit's proposed broadband network does indeed impede GPS signals. According to the National PNT Engineering Forum, the federal advisory group that conducted the study, LiqhtSquared's network disrupted GPS signals for all of the devices tested in the area. The report lists OnStar, Garmin, John Deere, emergency services, the FAA, and NASA among those affected by interference. Both LightSquared and the GPS industry are scheduled to present their own tests for the FCC's consideration next week. The news isn't exactly shocking, but it certainly doesn't bode well for the ambitious LTE network.

VERIZON OTA UPDATE FOR THUNDERBOLT LACKS LTE FIX

Verizon's finally sending that OTA firmware update for the Thunderbolt. Owners of the flagship device can grab it now through a manual download, and the good news is that it's meant to fix some connectivity issues. Bad news is it's just for 3G. The new code is also meant to stabilize data-dependent apps, speed up GPS updates for Google Maps and VZ Navigator, and fix a few minor messaging glitches. Guess we will have to wait longer for the LTE fix to arrive.

SPIROSCOUT INHALER TRACKS ASTHMA ATTACKS

Spiroscout is a USB-powered inhaler that uses GPS as well as WiFI to track patients' inhaler use. David Van Sickle, the inventor from University of Wisconsin-Madison, says Spiroscout will yield a fuller, more accurate body of data than the self-recorded logs patients are often asked to keep.

The benefit is two-fold, Van Sickle says: physicians can use this data to adjust their patients' medication, if necessary, while epidemiologists might have more insight into population-level trends. As PhysOrgnotes, this isn't the first inhaler of its kind (that honor goes to SiliconSky GPS, though its product was also based on Van Sickle's first-iteration technology), but it may be the most practical one to date in that it doesn't come with a bulky box attached. Spiroscout isn't available just yet -- the company expects it to ship in the fall.

LTE KILLING GPS?

LTE is coming and devices packed with LTE radios will need to be approved in droves. There has been (and will be) a significant push to get LTE into as many hands and homes as possible for many reasons. The increase in speed, the decrease in lag, and the boost in bandwidth across the US would bring many of the goals of the FCC’s push for a faster internet closer to reality. In order to get these devices into hands faster, would the FCC ignore the possibility that LTE is not “fully baked”?

On January 19th, members of the GPS industry were granted an audience with the FCC to discuss findings that a portion of the LTE broadcast spectrum may be too close to the spectrum used for GPS, and causing significant problems with the technologies cooperating together.

There is evidence that these LTE points being deployed by LightSquared are, in fact, causing interference on a significant scale.

LightSquared has officially commented that it plans to cooperate with the GPS companies and make sure that their technologies do not interfere with each other, but at the moment tension seems high, and the continued inaction on behalf of the FCC is worrisome. Be it negligence, ignorance, or malicious intent, the blatant disregard for the evidence that LightSquared’s broadcasting equipment would interfere with existing GPS infrastructure is a bad sign.

The desire to fast track these technologies “at any cost” is bound to have repercussions. At this point, however, it seems only time will tell if LightSquared holds true to their word, or if we are beginning to see the end of GPS as we know it.

FAA WARNS OF GPS ISSUES IN SOUTHEAST US

Don't panic, but anyone planning on using GPS in the southeastern US for the next month or so will likely want to make sure they have a fallback option. That's according to a flight advisory just issued by the FAA, which warns pilots that their GPS signal "may be unreliable or unavailable" due to "GPS tests" that the Department of Defense will be conducting between January 20th and February 22nd. Details are fairly light beyond that, but the FAA does note that when the "tests" occur they will be active for 45 minutes, and be followed by 15 minutes of off time -- additional notices to pilots will apparently be issued at least 24 hours prior to any test. Of course, while this particular advisory is directed at pilots, it will presumably will also affect all other GPS devices, as the FAA doesn't mention any GPS issues specific to aviation. The real question, however, is just what those mysterious "GPS tests" are. [Engadget]

MEIJER TESTING INDOOR GPS

Midwestern superstore Meijer is testing the use of an indoor GPS from Point Inside.  Since satellites aren't available inside, they are using WiFi access points.  The system is being tested in four Michigan stores.  It will allow users to locate "more than" 10,000 items in store along with bathrooms and customer service.

The stores have 26 WiFi nodes deployed, which helps triangulate users down to a reasonable area of precision. It is a free download for iPhone and Android users.  You can read the press release here.