Open PNT Industry Alliance Forms With Iridium and 9 Other Companies

Rendition of Galileo constellation. Photo: Galileo GNSS

Several Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) companies revealed Dec. 3 the formation of a coalition called the Open PNT Industry Alliance, which includes Iridium Communications, infiniDome, Jackson Labs Technologies, NAVSYS Corporation, NextNav, OPNT, Orolia, Qulsar, Satelles, and Seven Solutions. This coalition will support government efforts to accelerate the implementation of backup PNT capabilities for critical infrastructure, while fostering the collaboration between the public sector and private sector. Additionally, other companies sharing these views are invited to join the alliance.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) and other Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are susceptible to both service disruptions and deliberate attacks. The Open PNT Industry Alliance aims to share its expertise with global governments to help set policies, define regulations, and enact laws that achieve their national resilience objectives. The coalition will advocate for the establishment of a self-sustaining funding framework that allows for the development and adoption of multiple sources of PNT that meet the needs of various sectors and industries.

“Multiple forms of alternative PNT deliver the broadest possible range of operational and performance characteristics to meet the diverse needs of applications across all industry sectors, plus they can better adapt to future threats than a single technology with its inherent vulnerabilities,” said Dr. Michael O’Connor, CEO of Satelles. “The mission of the Open PNT Industry Alliance is to promote open-market concepts that preserve industry’s long-term ability to harness its inventive talent to protect GPS/GNSS with multiple solutions that are technologically advanced, commercially viable, and based on a sustainable long-term funding framework.”