New Satellite - Powerful GPS Signals

So back in September, we reported that the US government launched a new satellite to help power up the ailing GPS satellite fleet of aging satellites (see story). Well, bring it on, it's now working ofr the rest of us. Today the government flipped the switch on the signal and turned its power on for the rest of us. "So what?" you ask? Well the higher power is supposed to help with GPS signal reception in urban canyon areas. Great for the coming fleet of mobile phones that are populating the world right now.

The powering up of the new satellite is expected to benefit cell phone communications and strengthen the U.S.' technological leadership position. The move comes as Europe inches closer to launching its own satellite-based navigation system.

"The new signal-known as 'L2C-was specifically designed with commercial needs in mind," said Deputy Commerce Secretary David Sampson in remarks prepared for delivery at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce press event this morning. "For example, it is transmitted with a higher effective power, so GPS receivers work better in urban areas and indoors. And it requires less energy to receive the signal, an important feature for battery-powered devices such as mobile phones."

L2C was activated today, however chips and devices will need to be updated in order to take advantage of the new signals. There are no reports on whether current systems can take advantage of this with a software update or whether new hardware is required.

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