Novatel Inc. claims to be the first company to demonstrate a dual mode GPS and Galileo L1/E5A dual frequency prototype receiver in North America.

Novatel made the claim even though the Galileo Joint Undertaking has yet to announce the winner of the concession to build the satellites for the European Union‘s Galileo satellite navigation system and the demonstration satellites are not scheduled for launch until next year.

Tony Murfin, vice president of business development at Novatel, told Satellite Today that the dual mode receiver design was based on existing Galileo specifications. The receiver was developed under a contract from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) awarded in September 2004. Novatel is developing two sets of receivers and transmitters for the CSA for use with Galileo satellites.

“This is the first operational, near-production standard, dual mode GPS and Galileo dual frequency receiver in North America,” Murfin said in a statement. “We are particularly pleased to have the receiver working this early in the CSA program. We believe the technology we are creating here is unique and will enable NovAtel to provide GPS/Galileo receiver solutions worldwide and, hopefully, in the ground infrastructure of the Galileo system itself.”