LightSquared CEO Publicly Addresses GPS Interference Concerns

This week LightSquared is pulling out all the stops in a very public attempt to gain national support for its proposed wireless network. The company purchased several ads in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Market Watch and the Washington Post.

The paid advertisements took the form of a direct letter from LightSquared’s CEO to the American public. The letter presents some compelling reasons why LightSquared’s network is good for the country and the US economy. The company also appears to be defending itself by shifting the blame onto others.

In the letter, LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja claims that LightSquared has solved the problem of rural telecommunications, successfully addressed FCC concerns that its technology interferes with GPS devices, and will create thousands of jobs in the process. “The current nationwide wireless providers have failed to innovate and in the process have failed to keep pace with consumer and technological demands,” Ahuja said in the letter’s second paragraph.

UPS Cuts Fuel Costs By Millions With Fleet Management Technology

Fleet Management Technology Helps UPS Cut Fuel Costs 3.3% a Year

UPS recently released the latest edition of its annual Sustainability Report, which said the company had reduced the amount of fuel consumed per package in the United States by 3.3% in 2010. Meanwhile the company’s U.S. package volume rose 1.8% in 2010 compared to 2009.

UPS managed to deliver more packages for less money, and attributed the savings to routing technology, telematics, and loading optimization.

UPS has more than 100,000 vehicles on the road worldwide, with drivers logging about two billion miles per year. Fleet management technology enabled the company to avoid driving more than 63.5 million miles in 2010 with an associated emissions avoidance of 68,000 metric tonnes.

Calypso’s GPS System for Tumor Tracking Bought For $10 Million

Calypso Medical Technologies, a medical device and software company which has developed a tracking system to pinpoint tumors in the body, has been acquired for $10 million by Varian Medical Systems of Palo Alto, California.

Timothy E. Guertin, president and CEO of Varian Medical Systems said, “With Calypso’s technology, Varian will be able to offer cancer treatment centers real-time, non-ionizing tumor tracking tools for enhancing the precision of their treatments.”

Calypso, based in Seattle, creates products and software used to do real-time tracking of tumors during cancer treatment. The company does much of its work in prostate cancer treatment and is developing a lung cancer treatment product.

The Calypso® System features GPS for the Body® technology and Beacon® electromagnetic transponders that together currently provide a solution to continuously and accurately track and target location to improve precision of prostate cancer treatments.

LightSquared Vs. GPS Industry Goes Back To Congress

The dispute between LightSquared Inc. and the GPS industry recently shifted back to Congress. LightSquared is currently seeking approval from the FCC to move forward with its plans to build out a broadband wireless network. But the company has been facing fierce opposition from many claiming the proposed network will interfere with GPS system signals.

During a hearing before Congress, several lawmakers criticized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for “advocating” for LightSquared at the expense of critical GPS operations.

Fired NY State Employee Sues For GPS Tracking Without Consent

Monitoring Employees With GPS Tracking Without Their Knowledge or Consent – Is It Legal?

Managing employees in the field has always been a challenge. How do you know if employees are where they say they are? What if a customer calls to complain that a driver never showed up, but he swears he did. What is a manager to do? Ths is where GPS tracking can offer huge benefits.

But inevitably ethical and legal issues have been raised about gps tracking aka Big Brother in the workplace. Is it OK to monitor an employee with a GPS tracking device without their knowledge or consent?

How far can the state government go in monitoring a mobile employee?

This question will be addressed by a mid-level appeals court in New York very soon in about 6 weeks. The lawsuit was filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) against the state Labor Department, on behalf of a fired state worker whose personal vehicle was being monitored with a GPS tracking device, without his knowledge or consent.

Middletown Employees No Longer Skip Jobs Thanks To FieldLogix

When the street sweepers of Middletown go on their assigned routes, they know their work habits had better be squeaky clean. The City of Middletown, Ohio has been using the FieldLogix fleet tracking system for their street sweepers, solid waste trucks, and snow plows since 2008.

According to fleet manager, Michelle Evans, one of their favorite features is the ability to verify the stops made by their vehicles. Mrs. Evans said, “Sometimes drivers skip assigned stops during their shift in order to avoid the extreme temperatures and FieldLogix fleet tracking keeps them accountable. On the other hand, in heavy snow storms you can plow a street and an hour later it doesn’t look like you’ve been there. When we get complaints all I do is access the History Report or the Asset Activity Report and then I have proof that our drivers are out there doing their jobs.”

Sunshine Landscape Sees a ROI in 18 Days with FieldLogix

Using the fleet tracking system’s activity reports, he quickly realized that his employees were falsifying time sheets. Employees were taking long lunches, leaving early and were not where they were supposed to be during work hours.

But all this changed after installing a fleet tracking system. Once Mr. Contreras had a reliable way to measure his employee’s actual work hours, his overtime costs dropped immediately.

****In fact, his overtime costs dropped by more than 2 hours per man per day with no change in the workload. Based on these calculations, Mr. Contreras paid for the entire first year of the system within the first 18 days. ****

Government Debates Future of GPS System and IIF Satellites

The US economy has been struggling since 2007. Many are hoping that the country does not enter a double-dip recession this year. Budget cuts are a harsh reality for cities and states across the US. Budget cuts affect us all, and now they are affecting the US global positioning system aka GPS.

The U.S. Air Force has done an incredible job with the GPS system. But budget issues are forcing the US federal government to carefully scrutinize its plans for space. One issue that may end up on the table is whether to proceed with plans to develop a new generation of “GPS III” satellites, or try to save money by sticking with the existing GPS IIF design.

New Sprint App Prevents Texting and Talking While Driving

Texting and talking on the phone while driving is very dangerous. We all know this, yet many people continue to do it. The Governors Highway Safety Association combed through a decade’s worth of statistics and research papers about the causes of car crashes, and found that cell phone-related distractions accounted for 15 to 25 percent of crashes, according to PC Mag. The figure is likely even higher since law enforcers might not catch every driver using his cell phone before an accident.

To combat distracted driving, Sprint (NYSE: S) has launched a new app called Sprint Drive First. The app locks your phone when you’re driving over 10 miles per hour, and alerts your parent or spouse when the phone has been locked.

GPS Fleet Tracking Helps Habitat For Humanity Improve Customer Service

Habitat for Humanity Uses FieldLogix GPS Fleet Tracking System to Improve Customer Service and Reduce Fuel Costs Habitat for Humanity Charlotte recently installed GPS fleet tracking systems in its entire fleet of vehicles. Since deploying a fleet GPS tracking system, Habitat for Humanity has reported an improvement in customer response times, the amount of job […]

Major Improvements in Smartphone GPS Signals Coming Soon

GLONASS is a network of 22 satellites orbiting the earth that are owned and controlled by the Russian government. Starting next year smartphones based on Qualcomm chipsets are going to get a huge improvement in their GPS reception because they will be able to utilize Russia’s GLONASS signals in addition to the Global Positioning System (GPS). According to Qualcomm and an article in PC Mag, adding GLONASS improves GPS accuracy in “deep urban environments” by 50 percent.

New smartphones will actually be able to leverage both satellite networks to get a much stronger, more reliable GPS signal, even in urban like New York City and in the mountainous terrain like in Colorado. Between GPS and GLONASS, Qualcomm smartphones will have 55 satellites to choose from, which makes it much easier for a smartphone or GPS receiver to get a GPS signal.

FieldLogix’s Fuel Efficient Driver Training Program A Success

This year FieldLogix, an eco-friendly fleet tracking system, launched an online Fuel Efficiency Driver Training Program. The program has been quite a success. Drivers, fleet managers and business owners have all found the driver training program to be quite valuable.

Companies using the FieldLogix fleet tracking system have access to their proprietary Green Fleet Reports to monitor driver performance and improvements over time.

Driver training that targets fuel efficiency can help recognize and change driving habits that waste fuel. Even drivers with years behind the wheel can improve their skills and driving performance through fuel efficiency driver training programs.

GPS Fleet Tracking System Helps New Jersey Save Time and Money

Over 100 GPS fleet tracking systems have been installed in Bergen County-owned vehicles. County officials decided to purchase and install the tracking systems to cut the county”s operating expenses. They predict the system, which has so far cost about $56,000, will save taxpayers in several ways, including fuel, maintenance and man-hour costs.

The $56,000 cost for the tracking system includes the software and installation, plus a $22-per-month, per-vehicle fee. Jo Marie Sacchinelli, coordinator of monitoring and evaluation for the county Department of Public Works, said she didn’t know exactly how much the county would save, but described the system as a “very good return.”

FieldLogix Fleet Tracking System Helps To Recover Stolen Truck

When Interwest Construction Inc. realized one of their trucks had been stolen, they immediately activated the FieldLogix tracking system, which was installed inside the vehicle. Next thing you know, the chase was on

FieldLogix, an industry-leading eco-friendly fleet tracking system, was successfully utilized to recover the missing truck in just a few hours.

FieldLogix Lite – A New Entry-Level GPS Tracking System

In April FieldLogix launched a new version of its fleet GPS tracking system called FieldLogix Lite – an entry-level, real-time GPS vehicle tracking system. You can track one vehicle or manage your entire fleet with FieldLogix Lite at a lower monthly cost than the standard plan. The new fleet GPS plan has been well received and users have reported to be getting “more than their money’s worth” out of the tracking system.

FieldLogix Lite is an entry-level GPS vehicle tracking system that offers a perfect set of features for those who just want basic GPS tracking information at a lower cost. FieldLogix Lite has a basic set of GPS tracking features for companies that want to experience FieldLogix, but are not ready to commit to the full-featured offering. Best of all, FieldLogix Lite users can upgrade the more advanced versions of FieldLogix without having to replace the GPS vehicle tracking devices.

FieldLogix Saves Albertina Kerr 1,000 Gallons of Fuel in 2 Weeks

At first Keil Southworth of Albertina Kerr Centers was unsure whether the FieldLogix GPS fleet tracking system would really help him to cut costs.  So he decided to start with a few trial units to evaluate the product. He quickly realized how valuable and useful the system would be for his fleet.  Once the trial […]

900 Million GPS Devices Will Be Shipped Globally Over Next Two Years

GPS devices are an invaluable tool that modern society is completely dependent upon. The GPS market has drastically grown worldwide on account of increased use of the technology in areas of fleet management, aerospace applications/avionics, transport navigational systems, public safety, and others. GPS technology has proven its worth as huge benefits are being drawn from this technology to obtain precise position, velocity, and timing information of various devices.

According to an RNCOS research report released yesterday, “World GPS Market Forecast to 2013”, the contribution of the Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to the world economy has shown a steady growth in the last decade. The global shipment of GPS devices is anticipated to reach around 900 Million Units by 2013, growing at a CAGR of more than 20% during 2011-2013, acknowledged RNCOS in its latest research report.

Book a Hotel & Get Directions with TomTom’s New Nav Device

TomTom just launched an innovative GPS navigation device. Now, with TomTom’s new GO LIVE 153 5M GPS device, users will be able to read reviews, or find and book a hotel, as well as check local gas prices and weather forecasts through TomTom LIVE’s other apps and services.

GPS navigation devices have typically been limited in their ability to tell you where you should go, unable to provide a way to choose between the three local motels and the five Mom-and-Pop restaurants in town. Services like Yelp and TripAdvisor solve this problem in useful ways, and TomTom is taking advantage: On Monday, according to PC Mag, the company announced the TomTom GO LIVE 153 5M, which combines the navigation power of TomTom with the reviews and information of related apps.

The GO LIVE 1535 M gives away its features in its title. The LIVE portion references the TomTom LIVE services, which connect TomTom devices to the Web and allow them, in the case of the 1535M, to access sites like Yelp, Trip Advisor, Expedia and Twitter. Right from their GPS, users will be able to read reviews, or find and book a hotel, as well as check local gas prices and weather forecasts through TomTom LIVE’s other apps and services.

achievement achievement achievement achievement achievement achievement achievement achievement