The Telesaurus‐Skybridge Plan 
Enhancing VII with an accelerated deployment path 
and high‐accuracy positioning 
 
May 2008 
 
 
 
Response to U.S. DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration Solicitation 
 
 
Regarding 
 
 
Business Models for Achieving the Vehicle‐Infrastructure Integration 
 
 

Primary Contact: 

J.D. Margulici 
Associate Director 
California Center for Innovative Transportation 
University of California, Berkeley 
2105 Bancroft Way, Suite 300 
Berkeley, CA 94720‐3830 
(510) 642 5929 
jd@calccit.org    
Contents 
Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 3 
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4 
Background ............................................................................................................................................... 4 
Purpose of this response .......................................................................................................................... 4 
The Telesaurus‐Skybridge Plan: Wide‐Area ITS Wireless Services ............................................................... 5 
Vision ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 
Plan Overview ........................................................................................................................................... 6 
Mobile broadcasting ............................................................................................................................. 7 
2‐way mobile wireless communications ............................................................................................... 7 
Position, navigation and timing services ............................................................................................... 7 
Economic Evaluation ................................................................................................................................. 8 
Relevance of the plan to the Vehicle Infrastructure Integration .................................................................. 8 
Accelerating Deployment .......................................................................................................................... 8 
High‐Accuracy Positioning ........................................................................................................................ 9 
Pseudolite Technology ........................................................................................................................ 10 
Improvements to GPS signals ............................................................................................................. 11 
Concluding Remarks .................................................................................................................................... 12 
 

   

2 
 
Executive Summary 
Over the past several years, the California‐based LLC consortium Telesaurus has acquired a substantial 
number of radiofrequency licenses, both in the lower 200 MHz range and in the so‐called Location and 
Monitoring Services (LMS) band at 900 MHz. With those licenses, Telesaurus is authorized to transmit in 
the corresponding radio spectrum throughout the vast majority of the United States (US) for location, 
data, voice, and other intelligent transportation systems (ITS) services, principally under Title 47 Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 90, Subpart M. 

Telesaurus plans to use its spectrum for wide‐area ITS wireless services on a national basis, with a goal 
to maximize long‐term social, environmental, and economic benefits, and in coordination with 
government ITS‐related actions and systems at the national and local level. This involves donation of 
substantial amounts of spectrum rights by the Telesaurus LLCs to the Skybridge Spectrum Foundation, 
who would be jointly responsible for implementing a nationwide wireless network. 

The Telesaurus‐Skybridge plan is a standards‐based nationwide ITS‐specific wireless network providing, 
first and foremost, terrestrial location signaling, to enhance coverage, accuracy and reliability of GPS. In 
addition, secure data transmissions would deliver critical ITS services with applications for commuters, 
travelers, government, commercial fleets, transportation operators and first responders. In sum, the 
Telesaurus‐Skybridge network would feature three classes of wireless services: 

• Position, navigation and timing (PNT) services 
• Mobile broadcasting 
• 2‐way mobile wireless communications 

The Telesaurus‐Skybridge plan entails two key concepts that are highly relevant to the Vehicle‐
Infrastructure Integration Initiative. The first concept is to maximize the respective advantages of the 
wide‐area‐capable Telesaurus spectrum at 200 MHz and 900 MHz with the shorter‐range DSRC 5.9 GHz 
spectrum available for VII, in a way that is mutually beneficial. The second concept is the critically‐
needed augmentation of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) with terrestrial stations (so‐called 
“pseudolites”) to provide lane‐level positioning accuracy in dense urban areas, as well as a backup to the 
Global Positioning System (GPS). 

It therefore appears that the business case for VII could be greatly facilitated by synergies with the 
Telesaurus‐Skybridge plan. The addition of long‐range radio spectrum to DSRC spectrum could 
substantially minimize the costs of initial deployment. This could be done at the cost of ensuring that 
vehicle on‐board equipment is compatible with multiple wireless bands, a relatively minor offset. 
Further, the perspective of higher‐accuracy positioning capabilities has tremendous potential to enable 
future ITS applications and may by itself be a make‐or‐break proposition for VII. 

While the Telesaurus‐Skybridge plan is currently being investigated privately, this response seeks to 
establish ties with US DOT agencies. 

3 
 
Introduction 
Background 
Over the past several years, the California‐based LLC consortium Telesaurus has acquired a substantial 
number of radiofrequency licenses, both in the lower 200 MHz range and in the so‐called Location and 
Monitoring Services (LMS) band at 900 MHz. With those licenses, Telesaurus is authorized to transmit in 
the corresponding radio spectrum throughout the vast majority of the United States (US) for location, 
data, voice, and other intelligent transportation systems (ITS) services, principally under Title 47 Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 90, Subpart M. 

Telesaurus plans to use its spectrum for wide‐area ITS wireless services on a national basis, with a goal 
to maximize long‐term social, environmental, and economic benefits, and in coordination with 
government ITS‐related actions and systems at the national and local level. This involves ongoing 
donation of substantial amounts of spectrum rights by the Telesaurus LLCs to the Skybridge Spectrum 
Foundation, who would be jointly responsible for implementing a nationwide wireless network. We 
refer to this plan as the ‘Telesaurus‐Skybridge plan’ or ‘Telesaurus‐Skybridge network’ in the remainder 
of this document. 

The California Center for Innovative Transportation (CCIT) is part of UC Berkeley’s Institute of 
Transportation Studies and works to accelerate the implementation of research results and the 
deployment of technical solutions by practitioners to enable a safer, cleaner and more efficient surface 
transportation system. CCIT works with academia, government agencies and industry. It is uniquely 
positioned to tread the middle ground between public and private organizations, and ultimately assist in 
the development and fielding of technological products and services in the transportation sector. 

A Master Agreement was executed in 2007, enabling Telesaurus to sponsor investigations by UC 
Researchers, chiefly at CCIT, on the technical feasibility and economic benefits of wide‐area wireless ITS 
services.  

Purpose of this response 
The Telesaurus‐Skybridge plan entails two key concepts that are highly relevant to the Vehicle‐
Infrastructure Integration Initiative. The first concept is to maximize the respective advantages of the 
wide‐area‐capable Telesaurus spectrum at 200 MHz and 900 MHz with the shorter‐range DSRC 5.9 GHz 
spectrum available for VII, in a way that is mutually beneficial. The second concept is the critically‐
needed augmentation of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) with terrestrial stations (so‐called 
“pseudolites”) to provide lane‐level positioning accuracy in dense urban areas, as well as a backup to the 
Global Positioning System (GPS). 

The purpose of this response is to inform the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) 
on the two aforementioned concepts. To date, those concepts have been explored privately with little 
involvement from federal agencies. Yet, the potential synergies with the VII initiative are worth noting 
and deserve further exploration. In particular, it appears that the business case for VII could be greatly 
facilitated by the addition of the Telesaurus‐Skybridge plan. 

4 
 
This document doesn’t address many of the questions put forth in the Request For Information (RFI). It 
instead focuses on the Telesaurus‐Skybridge plan and how it relates to the VII initiative. The first section 
is a general overview of what is meant by wide‐area ITS wireless services, and the second section 
highlights their complementarities with VII. 

The Telesaurus­Skybridge Plan: Wide­Area ITS Wireless Services 

Vision 
The vision that drives the Telesaurus‐Skybridge plan is a standards‐based nationwide ITS‐specific 
wireless network providing critical ITS services with applications for commuters, travelers, government, 
commercial fleets, transportation operators, first responders, as well as position, navigation and timing 
services. Envisioned network functions include: 

• Terrestrial location signaling, to enhance coverage, accuracy and reliability of GPS. The network 
could also provide a backup to GPS if it is jammed or spoofed, or in case of a failure; 
• Mobile,  variable‐speed,  two‐way  data  between  vehicles  and  the  network,  for  vehicle  location 
and  status  reporting  to  the  network,  and  other  ITS‐specific  information.  This  may  be 
coordinated with the use of DSRC 5.9 GHz spectrum; 
• Mobile,  high‐speed,  location‐specific,  continuous  one‐way  broadcasts  of  weather,  road 
conditions,  traffic,  traveler  information,  emergency  alerts,  and  possible  advertising  and 
entertainment; 
• Emergency  preemption  for  emergency  response  authorities  to  broadcast  critical  information, 
monitor and control traffic; 
• Fixed‐station  wireless  data  for  environmental  monitoring  and  protection  in  urban  and  rural 
regions. 
 
In order to more systematically categorize the applications that a wide‐area network dedicated to ITS 
could enable, we developed a taxonomy of 18 application classes. Application classes are broad 
categories of applications that share a common set of stakeholders and similar technical requirements. 
Table 1 provides a list of those application classes. 

Table 1 ‐ Wide‐Area ITS Wireless Services Application Classes 

Automatic Vehicle Control (AVC)  Electronic Tolling  Open Road Tolling 

Backhaul Network for ITS Data  Emergency Preemption  Premium Traveler Services 

Basic Traveler Information  Remote Vehicle‐to‐Handheld 
Fleet Management Applications 
Dissemination  Services 

Broadcast Entertainment  Law Enforcement Assistance  Retail Service Applications 

Third‐Party Vehicle Status 
E‐911 Applications  Maritime Services 
Reporting 

5 
 
 Traffic and Environmental 
Electronic Enforcement  On‐Demand Entertainment 
Monitoring 

Plan Overview 
In line with the vision laid out in the previous section, the network envisioned by Telesaurus‐Skybridge 
would provide three distinct types of wireless services: 

• Position, navigation and timing (PNT) services 
• Mobile broadcasting 
• 2‐way mobile wireless communications 

These services would be delivered by utilizing Telesaurus’ existing spectrum licenses in the 200 MHz and 
900 MHz ranges, possibly complemented by untapped adjacent spectrum in which the US National 
Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) holds primary rights, with most current uses limited 
to military bases and other Federal facilities. Telesaurus’ holdings include, in particular, 129 Federal 
Communications Commission (FCC) radio spectrum licenses that cover approximately 80% of the US 
under the designation Location and Monitoring Services by Multilateration (M‐LMS). M‐LMS is defined 
in Title 47 CFR Part 90, Subpart M (beginning at § 90.350) as an ITS radio service. DSRC is the other ITS 
radio service, also under this Subpart M. M‐LMS spectrum has been licensed through auctions by the 
FCC for with the goal to enable vehicular applications of wide‐area wireless communications. The FCC 
rules for M‐LMS licenses require the provision of radiolocation and impose that communications be 
primarily to vehicles. As such, the Telesaurus‐Skybridge network would ensure tightly secured data 
communications for core ITS safety and mobility applications, such as lane‐based travel, toll collection, 
exchange of emergency alerts between vehicles and the network, as well as integration with most‐
critical DSRC services of the same nature,. 

In order to implement a wide‐area wireless ITS network, transmission stations would be rolled out, 
starting with major metropolitan areas. Initially, a strong interest from utility companies and large 
transportation organizations could provide sufficient economic justification for an incremental build‐out. 
Moreover, position, navigation and timing services will be delivered free of charge, much like GPS. This 
would also be true of core ITS applications delivered with broadcast and two‐way communications. The 
business model is to charge for extra capacity used by commercial for‐profit services. It is similar to the 
business models deployed by many media content providers, especially in the digital media space. 

On the vehicle side, on‐board equipment will combine adequate radio receivers and connect to 
telematics’ devices to enable end‐user applications. Such on‐board equipment would incorporate both 
hardware and software elements, possible resorting to Software‐Defined Radio (SDR), an emerging 
technique that allows multiple frequency hopping with a single antenna. One element of this response is 
to suggest that the same set of equipments could allow transmissions in the 200, 900 and 5,900 MHz 
ranges. 

6 
 
Wireless frequencies present different characteristics that determine how fast and how far information 
can be exchanged. 200 MHz spectrum works well for broadcasting information over large areas the size 
of a metropolitan region. M‐LMS spectrum is ideal for relatively high bit‐rate 2‐way communications 
ranging up to a few miles. In addition, both bands can be used to augment GPS and provide highly 
accurate position information. 

Mobile broadcasting 
For mobile broadcasting, one radio tower could send out a signal that covers an entire metropolitan 
area. The 200 MHz spectrum rights owned by Telesaurus are well suited to this and currently cover 
about 80% of the US. There are several marketable applications that this spectrum could be used for, 
with both economic and public benefits. A broadcast network could supplement the swelling navigation 
and traffic information industry. There is also the possibility of providing broadcast entertainment 
services to customers. Public agencies may make use of this broadcast service in times of emergency to 
broadcast important information to the public.  

2­way mobile wireless communications 
Two‐way mobile wireless communications would use the 900 MHz M‐LMS spectrum. Each transmission 
station would cover up to a few miles in range, several orders of magnitude further than DSRC stations 
transmitting at 5.9 GHz. 2‐way communications would primarily enable monitoring services, opening up 
a range of applications that include traffic management, fleet management, open road tolling, and 
more. 2‐way communications would also enable commercial applications such as on‐demand 
entertainment, premium traveler services, and electronic payments. 

Position, navigation and timing services 
A portion of the available spectrum would be dedicated to positioning, navigation and timing services. 
This service will be available to all users at no charge. Positioning accuracy at lane‐level is desired for a 
host of ITS applications, particularly in the area of real‐time safety as well as for lane‐by‐lane electronic 
road pricing schemes. This level of accuracy is not achievable using commercial low‐cost GPS receivers, 
even when augmented with differential GPS, inertial navigation systems (INS) or in‐vehicle sensors. 

Expensive real‐time kinematic (RTK) GPS receivers can achieve centimeter‐level accuracy. However that 
performance is only guaranteed in the absence of multipath, a virtual impossibility in an urban 
environment, and given very precise initialization which is equally impossible for public ITS application. A 
variety of GPS/INS integration techniques have been studied and implemented over many years. 
Nevertheless, drifting issues continue to make such systems largely unreliable when GPS is not available 
lengths of time exceeding a minute. 

The Telesaurus‐Skybridge wireless network would provide positioning signals from ground stations, or 
pseudolites. Combined with signals from available satellites, pseudolite signals would offer much better 
accuracy than GPS alone. Moreover, pseudolites would be better able to address the challenges of 
dense urban environments where GPS is hard to get, and to even backup GPS when no satellite is 
available in a given area. 

7 
 
Economic Evaluation 
CCIT and Telesaurus are evaluating the market potential of each major application class being 
considered for the Telesaurus‐Skybridge network. This involves 1) defining the value chain in those 
application classes; and 2) evaluating the relative costs and benefits of delivering each application class 
over the Telesaurus‐Skybridge network. 

The value chain analysis defines the market by describing each application class as an economic 
ecosystem. It is important to note that the nature of the value chain varies by application class. It 
delineates roles and responsibilities, from OEMs and systems developers to service providers, customers 
and strategic partners. It further identifies various stakeholders involved in each segment of the value 
chain. 

The economic assessment will evaluate the opportunity for each application class. This includes 
developing relative measures of the market size and potential market share of a wide‐area wireless 
network dedicated to ITS for each application class. Potential market share is measured by the degree of 
competition, barriers to entry, and service benefits delivered by each application class. The market is 
further evaluated by how well established or speculative it is.  

Relevance of the plan to the Vehicle Infrastructure Integration 
Accelerating Deployment 
The proposed Telesaurus‐Skybridge plan contains the notion that a wide‐area network could not only 
complement but in fact accelerate the deployment of the federal vision for VII. The prevalent research 
approach for VII currently focuses on high‐availability, low‐latency, short‐range communications through 
a protocol operating at 5.9 GHz, known as Dedicated Short‐Range Communications (DSRC). DSRC would 
be needed to provide safety‐critical applications involving real‐time data transmission when a possible 
crash is imminent, and for various other ITS services. Short‐range and wide‐area communication 
protocols may complement each other in important ways: 

• Certain applications are more suited to short‐range, low‐latency communications, while other 
would be better served by a wide‐area network; 
• Vehicle users will expect substantial coverage from any wireless capability built into vehicles, 
and even with hundreds of thousands of DSRC stations at major intersections and interchanges, 
the vast majority of roadways will not have coverage without complementary wide‐area 
wireless systems; 
• Adopting a mix of strategically located short‐range beacons within an encompassing regional 
wide‐area wireless network, where the two forms of communication are substantially 
integrated, may be a practical and cost‐effective approach to a global ITS wireless network;  
• And for all of the above reasons, short‐range communications and long‐range communications 
may leverage off each other to offer a more compelling business case both in the short and 
longer term. 

8 
 
The last point is particularly crucial because the emergence of safety‐critical applications made possible 
by DSRC requires a high‐penetration rate for DSRC receivers, leading to a so‐called “chicken and egg 
problem.” 

By coordinating the deployment of wide‐area systems with that of DSRC stations, it would be possible to 
support dual‐system, multi‐band end‐user vehicle transceivers. Those would provide drivers with the 
immediate benefits of ITS applications via wide‐area systems, and support the deployment of an 
increasing numbers of DSRC stations offering additional ITS safety functions. One main advantage of this 
approach is that a wide‐area network can be deployed more rapidly and at a much lower cost than a 
DSRC network, because it requires far fewer transmitters. In most markets, high‐elevation transmitter 
sites adequate for longer‐range communications are already available from public agencies, utilities and 
third‐party providers supplying the cellular phone industry. DSRC beacons could then be installed more 
gradually, starting with the most safety‐sensitive locations. 

The emergence of a wide‐area wireless network for ITS would further provide a unique opportunity to 
the operators of transportation infrastructure, who currently rely on a patchwork or channels such as 
phone lines, fiber optics and wireless subscriptions over cellular networks.  

The information provided in this section is only qualitative in nature. It is intended to open the 
possibility to a dialogue between Telesaurus‐Skybridge and federal agencies within US DOT who have an 
interest in VII and appreciate the opportunity to resort to a hybrid rollout involving a combination of 
DSRC and wider‐area transmissions. 

High­Accuracy Positioning 
High‐accuracy positioning at lane‐level is a key challenge for next‐generation advanced driver assistance 
systems such as:  
• Collision warning 
• Adaptive cruise control (ACC) 
• Lane departure warning (LDW) 
• Curve warning 
• Electronic tolling schemes  

Figure 1 shows a typical problem with ACC on a curving road. This problem can be resolved with lane‐
level positioning accuracy, as it enables the ACC‐equipped vehicle to detect that the neighboring vehicle 
is in an adjacent lane.  

9 
 
  
Figure 1 ‐ False braking due to neighboring vehicle in different lane 

The M‐LMS spectrum licenses specifically require that positioning, navigation and timing signal be 
provided by their operators. The basic concept is to supplement GNSS with so‐called pseudolites. 
Pseudolites are terrestrial stations that fulfill the same function as a satellite in a GNSS constellation. The 
Telesaurus‐Skybridge plan would utilize both 200 MHz and 900 MHz spectrum to deliver lane‐level 
positioning. 

A commercial GPS receiver typically suffers from a 3‐meter standard error under a moderate GPS 
coverage (i.e. receiving signals from 5‐6 satellites). With traffic lane width of 3.6 m and vehicle width of 
1.8 m, lateral position error must be less than 90 cm, for cars to be assigned to the correct lane at least a 
majority of the time. 

LW = 3. 6 m  Width of lane 

CW = 1.8 m  Width of car 

LPE     Lateral position error 

LPE <= (LW – CW) / 2 = 0.9 m 

Pseudolite Technology 
Pseudolites consist of a network of transmitters that are substitutes for GNSS satellites. Like satellites, 
pseudolites broadcast a so‐called “pseudorandom” code. Receivers generate the same code and 
compare the code received from transmitters with their self‐generated code. This comparison 
determines the time of flight of the signal, which is proportional to the distance between the receiver 
and the transmitter. 

By finding distances to at least four transmitters, which could be a combination of satellites and 
pseudolites, the receiver can estimate its position and clock bias. Pseudolites can be deployed as a 
stand‐alone system or be integrated with GPS in order to augment both the availability and accuracy of 
positioning signals. 

Substantial progress has been made in the field of high‐accuracy wireless location technologies in recent 
years. Novariant Inc. (www.novariant.com) and Locata Technology (based in Australia) are two 
commercial companies that have developed Pseudolite‐based solutions with centimeter level accuracy 
in a local area. 

10 
 
Improvements to GPS signals 
In the case of GPS, error sources can be categorized into the following three major types: 

• Satellite errors 
• Atmospheric errors 
• Receiver and Antenna errors (including thermal noise and multi‐path) 

Table 2 lists the approximate effect of different sources of errors on range accuracy. 

Table 2 ‐ Sources of range errors in GPS system 

Error Source  Range Error (m) 

Satellite Orbital and Clock Error  1 m 
Tropospheric  1 m 
Ionospheric  10 m 
Receiver Clock Error  1 m 
Multipath  10 m 
 

In the case of a pseudolite, ionospheric error certainly do not exist. Tropospheric error is mostly 
negligible, because the network is on the ground and the distance between the transmitters and the 
receiver is short (i.e. a handful of miles). Transmitters are stationary, so there is no unknown error with 
their position. There is therefore generally less range error from a pseudolite signal as there is from a 
satellite signal. Multipath errors can creep in a pseudolite‐based system, but this is highly dependent on 
the equipment design and the local terrain. There exist opportunities to bring that error down with 
careful design and deployment Table below lists sources of errors for Pseudolite systems.  

Table 3 ‐ Sources of range errors in Pseudolite system 

Error Source  Range Error (m) 

Transmitter Clock Error  1 m 
Tropospheric  ~ 0 
Ionospheric  0 
Receiver Clock Error  1 m 
Multipath  Variable 
 

Telesaurus‐Skybridge plans on using 200 MHz and 900 MHz licensed bands for the purpose of 
localization. This is a unique advantage of Telesaurus‐Skybridge. Existing pseudolite implementations 
either broadcast at GPS frequencies or in license‐free bands, like WiFi 2.4 GHz. Broadcasting at GPS 

11 
 
 frequencies is subject to the so called near‐far problem which involves the interference between GPS 
satellite signals and pseudolite transmitter signals. Broadcasting within license‐free bands is subject to 
interferences with other undesired signals in those bands. 

In addition to using pseudolite techniques, Telesaurus‐Skybridge can leverage its 200 MHz spectrum to 
broadcast Ionospheric and Tropospheric corrections to GPS receivers in a wide area. WAAS (Wide Area 
Augmentation System) satellites broadcast similar corrections inside the US for the same purpose. 
However, like GPS, they are satellite‐based. Hence, in occluded areas such as city centers, those signals 
are week or unavailable. 

Concluding Remarks 
This document provides a very general overview of the Telesaurus‐Skybridge plan. We hope that it 
musters interest from US DOT agencies in seeking collaboration in the future. A few points deserve to be 
reiterated: 

• High‐accuracy location is a key element of the Telesaurus‐Skybridge plan, which offers a unique 
approach. Ongoing discussions with US DOT, NTIA, and FCC representatives all point to a high 
level of interest from government to enable such augmentation to GPS. 
• The Telesaurus –Skybridge network would offer terrestrial location signaling, as well as core ITS 
data applications free of charge. Extra capacity dedicated to commercial services would fund the 
deployment and operations of the network. 
• Location signaling and data communications would be tightly integrated: the Telesaurus‐
Skybridge network would provide high‐accuracy positioning, and position would in turn 
determine the nature of data being exchanged between the vehicle and the network. This 
response suggests that DSRC could become a piece of this puzzle. 
• Finally, it is worth noting that while CCIT is working with sponsorship from Telesaurus, they are a 
separate entity, part of the University of California. As such, CCIT strives to maintain a level of 
objectivity conform to academic standards. Its views are not necessarily in complete alignment 
with that of Telesaurus. Further, Telesaurus is conducting a range of investigations 
independently from the University of California, many of which are not presented in this 
response. As a result, Telesaurus and Skybridge may file additional comments in response to the 
Volpe RFI, aiming to further describe its plans, present matters related to ongoing discussions 
with FCC and NTIA, and expose results from past research done outside CCIT. 

[ Post filing notes by Telesaurus-Skybridge. (1) As noted immediately above, we have additional research into these
areas not fully reflected above. We are in the process of integrating our research with that of CCIT summarized above. In
later reports to US and California DOTs, FCC, NTIA, ITS and SDR forums, and others, this will be more fully reflected.
(2) We support objective CCIT research and publication into areas of ITS in the public interest: these are core objectives
of our for-profit and nonprofit businesses. (3) From our research consulting experts and companies involved in
radioloation, we believe it will be possible to cost-effectively provide reliable, consistent wide-area sub-meter level
vehicle location accuracy for ITS applications (with tightly integrated wireless data communications and broadcasts) by
means indicated above, and further in the attached Telesaurus-Skybridge notes. This is being reviewed and further
developed by CCIT and experts in radiolocation related to ITS that we arranged to support the Telesaurus-Skybridge
CCIT project, also from University of California. - Warren Havens. 5.03.08 ]
12 
 
[5.26.08: Below has been amended internally, and placed in Excel: not reflected bellow, but
the principal substance remains. - W. Havens]

ATLIS*

Telesaurus-Skybridge Spectrum Foundation,

with CCIT at the University of California, Berkeley

Research Regarding Integrated ITS Vehicle Localization1

and Major Wide-Area GPS Augmentation for Advanced US PNT

Internal. Not for general distribution. Stage results will be published.

April 2008, v. 1.2.
Some items redacted due to NDA’s and other reasons.

Notes on Concepts and Methods Being Pursued

Involving Use and Integration (with SDR, location-based Kalman filter, spectrum shifting by time and
traffic, etc.) of:
Primary
(1) GPS-GNSS,
(2) RTK (generally same stations as PLs) (generally, with 200 MHz),
(3) Terrestrial Pseudolites (PLs) (with LMS-M 900 MHz and 200 MHz),
(4) Inertial Navigation Systems (“INS”) (with MEMS),
(5) Roadside beacons, and In-Road transponders (with LMS-N 900 MHz, and DSRC),
(6) Dynamic-GIS Kalman filter adjusted by availability and accuracy of each of above and
below in each local area and at each stage toward full implementation.
Supplementary
(7) Altitude map matching,
(8) V2V Communications (reduce deviations, and chance of malfunction in individual
vehicles),
(9) Roadside to Vehicle and V2R lasers,
(10) Vehicle to Grid (“V2G”) and V2G2V elements: in-road solar-thermal electric generation,
and in-road induction power transmission into electric-drive vehicles with integrated
transponders.
(11) Other.

This current outline v.1.2 does not comment on all of the above. It reflects current focus. Methods 1
to 6 above are considered primary at this stage.

This should be reviewed with other related information: (i) www.telesaurus.com, (ii)
www.atliswireless.com, (iii) www.tetra-us.us, (iv) www.calccit.org, (v) US PNT web pages: Google
“US PNT,” (vi) papers to the ITS World Congresses, and to US DOT, by CCIT and Telesaurus posted

*
“Advanced Transportation Location & Information Service.” See footnote on ATLIS Wireless
LLC below.
1
These notes deal only with the location-PNT component of the Telesaurus-Skybridge ITS wireless
plans, and not the required tightly integrated two-way data (vehicle to network, and vehicle to vehicle)
and one-way data broadcasts: these communications are required for some of the location techniques
to be used, and for core ITS services for essential transport safety and efficiency, congestion and
pollution mitigation, etc.

ATLIS Wireless LLC Page 1

on the “ITS Solutions” page at www.telesaurus.com, and (vii) references noted below and in the just-
noted papers.

Background work, entities, and materials consulted and considered.

Existing past and current matters reviewed.

• Telesaurus-Skybridge. www.telesaurus.com, Including links on the links page related to

location, and on other pages on ITS location, ITS solutions, and other pages.

• US DOT-RITA workshop on PNT for US ITS, at Ohio State University: papers and
proceedings, including by Prof. Raja Sengupta (one of two Principal Investigators of the
Telesaurus-Skybridge project at CCIT at University of California Berkeley). Copy of some of
these materials posted on the ITS Location pages at www.telesaurus.com. Copies also at:
http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/ncrst/meetings/20060713SBA-
SpaceTrans/ColsWorkshopRpt05FINAL.pdf

• Center for Remote Sensing in Virginia, http://www.cfrsi.com /. See also articles (Google) by
CRS personnel: Samun Ganguli and his associates

• SNAP in Austraila http://www.gmat.unsw.edu.au/snap/snap.htm, See also paper drafted for

Telesaurus by Prof. Chris Rizos, head of SNAP. A lot of pseudolite papers available at the
SNAP website.

• Naysys. http://www.navsys.com/about/profile.htm . Pseudolite work and SDR GPS.

• Stanford GPS lab. http://waas.stanford.edu/research/insIntegration.htm

• Ohio State University. Their programs in GNSS, PNT, etc. Also, the Universities in BC and
Alberta in Canada have programs in GPS and other wireless location that are useful, including
Ph.D. thesis in GPS augmentation by altitude map matching.

• IONS. http://www.ion.org/

• Novariant. http://www.novariant.com/

• Locata. Search Internet information on Locata (an Australian company). They deliberately
did not have a website in the past, the head guy told on phone calls, Nunzio Ganble. (They are
developing further patents, it appears, and may want to restrict competition by keeping quiet.)
But you can find some material. I also attach some here. They have a number of pseudolite
patents and from them certain products they are commercializing with Leica, Trimble or
Garmin, and others.

• Other Companies commercializing pseudolites for wide-area or local applications, including

Locata, Locata with Leica, Locata with Trimble, Novariant. Etc. Some in Europe and
Austrialia, for open road tolling, but these are not very high accuracy as we plan: but we track
for Applications we can serve.

• US PNT (DOD, DOT, FAA, Other Federal): their website and major papers: notes value of
pseudolite augmentation of GPS, and of this by private parties and public-private partnerships
(as we plan). Also, EU Galileo project: their website and major papers. Some in EU ITS

ATLIS Wireless LLC Page 2

 circles are working on pseudolites using GNSS signals (with pulsing and other methods to
mitigate near-far interference) to augment GNSS, but they do not appear to be working on
non-GNSS spectrum pseudolites as we plan (to have the spectrum for this is rare: US appears
to be only major nation!!).

• Traffic Tech International and other ITS-oriented publications. Articles indicating value of
high-accuracy vehicle location but not dealing with specifics, since no one is doing it yet.
E.g., see the article on value of ITS wireless if it had been in place for Hurricane Katrina.

• Location-based wireless studies and reports. Some of these are proprietary, but they typically
have the contents outlined on online sites. Most do not have content very useful for our
subject, but have information on benefits and applications useful for item 2 below.

• Etc. Probably, papers and materials not in last 5-8 years will not be that useful for our major
tasks, but we are still researching and reviewing.

• SDR and CR (enabling tech): E.g., websites of DARPA XG, Shared Spectrum Company,
Lyrtech, Virginia Tech (wireless groups and projects involved in these). Direct talks with
Lyrtech and meetings planned. CR in SDR in vehicle radios may afford more accuracy in
selection of best signals for location (multiple GNSS and multiple terrestrial pseudolite, and
multiple RTK signals) verses the networks estimating this for the moving terminals. We also
need to use many spectrum bands from 150 to 900+, 4.9/ 5.9 GHz, etc. for ITS wireless
communications, and multiple protocols. Thus, advanced ITS wireless should be the primary
substantial first adopter, after military, of SDR and CR, and should become a market in which
these critical radio techniques may be advanced toward wide use in portable commercial and
consumer devices.

• ISO TC 211 (ITS GIS and location, including pseudolites) and ISTO TC 204 (some on
communications related to location). We appear to have the most advanced plan for ITS
specific location, dynamic GIS, and communication, from my talks with ITS leaders in US,
EU, Japan, Korea, and China. We thus may need to take initiative on standards work.

• US VII work related to vehicle location. Including VII DSRC concepts of deployments and
services, and how to potentially use DSRC for one method of localization by additional
multilateration and pass-by directional beacons, etc.

• EU ITS (Ertico) and Japanese ITS work on vehicle location and related communications. Our
program is more advanced in its objectives and method considered, from direct talks I have
had with EU and Japanese ITS leaders, in part since we have the suitable spectrum secured.

• Works on low-cost Atomic clocks: sub $1,000, and some suggest soon under $100, for
enterprise-grade and consumer-grade products. See [redacted].

• Works on RTK suitable for our purposes (lower cost terminals, faster response, etc.) such as in
networks used and being expanded over wide areas in prime US agricultural regions. See
[redacted].

• Works on mobile laser communications (can provide basis of roadside to vehicle localization).
See Carnegie Mellon and Stevens [redacted[.

• Works on road-embedded transponders.

ATLIS Wireless LLC Page 3

 • [Other: redacted in this v. 1.2.]

• US patent search regarding patents essential for most promising techniques. Goal is to work
on an ITS standard under US and International SSOs, and for this, to get patentees to agree to
FRNAD licensing for commercial purposes, and below-market rates for nonprofit and
governmental uses (with good-citizen benefits offered),

Notes to above:

(a) We do not mean by “pseudolite” what is commonly meant: use of GNSS spectrum and code
on the ground (with means to mitigate interference), but we mean use of non-GNSS spectrum
at terrestrial stations, and probably not GNSS code, to independently use multilateration to get
locations, but that are integrated with GNSS determinations (and INS, etc.), but if GNSS fails,
will work without the integration. That is a use of “pseudolites” in a broader sense.

(b) (c) (d) [Redacted in this v. 1.2.]

Concepts and methods, further discussion.

The goal is, generally: near-constant, high-accuracy vehicle location, with high consistency and
reliability, in all environments (including urban cores), of moving vehicles on major public roadways
in the US, using the FCC licenses of the AWL Affiliates,2 and other radio spectrum they may designed
for study, that they believe may become available (together, the “Available Spectrum”), where such
location is a central component of the ITS wireless systems being considered in the CCIT contract
described in the text above.

To achieve this, multiple location techniques must be used, and the location service in all public
areas must be at no charge, like GPS. Special location services using the same methods and spectrum
at private facilities will be for profit. Essential communications used in these location methods, and
used for instructions and information in ITS, public safety, and environmental monitoring and
protection, will also be provided at no charge in all public areas, and charged at private facilities.
Non-essential location-related communications will be charged, but this will use only capacity not
needed for the essential communications.

While AWL may modify the following, the methods contemplated include use and tight integration
of the primary and secondary methods listed on page 1 above, and further discussed below. The
following is not comprehensive and does not comment on all methods numbered above and otherwise
being explored. AWL has obtained and is obtaining advice on these methods from various authorities
in these fields.

1. GPS-GNSS methods would include publicly announced augmentations of those systems for
several decades.Wide-area networks of terrestrial pseudolite (“PL”) stations using the Available
Spectrum (not GNSS radio frequencies).

2
ATLIS Wireless LLC. www.atliswireless.com. ATLIS is the operating company of its affiliated,
commonly-controlled FCC-license holding companies: Telesaurus Holdings GB LLC, Telesaurus
VPC LLC, AMTS Consortium LLC, Intelligent Transportation & Monitoring Wireless LLC, and
Skybridge Spectrum Foundation.

ATLIS Wireless LLC Page 4

 2. Wide-area networks of RTK or similar method to correct the GPS-GNSS location
determinations. These would use the same or many of the same transmit locations as the PL transmit
stations.

3. Also, RTK type techniquest may be used with PLs: each PL’s postion can be estimated by use
of all available PLs, and that can be compared to its known actual position, and these corrections can
then be used to correct all vehicle locations using said PLs to determine their location.

4. Locata-type PL synchronization (does not depend on absolute time) but also use of new-
generation(s) of affordable atomic clocks, for better integration with GNSS PNT, and better
duplication/ back-up of GNSS PNT (if GNSS is jammed or otherwise becomes inoperative in
circumstances).

5. Vehicle Inertial Navigation Systems (“INS”), that are highly accurate and can be calibrated by
the ITS vehicle location system by integrated two-way data communications with the vehicles, that
will also use some of the Available Spectrum. This may require new techniques whereby the INS
system (i) has a means to be calibrated/ re-calibrated in areas of highest location determination (best
GNSS+PL method results), (ii) when moving out of such areas, to be given more weight in the
Kalman filter (area-based system-adjustable dynamic Kalman filter) and (iii) to improve maintenance
of accuracy as the vehicle moves out of such areas, such as by calibration of INS readings vs.
GNSS+PL readings over such areas (INS in a new vehicle with new tires will not be the same as with
worn tires and other changes, but with such calibration, the errors can be reduced and estimated).

6. Placement of PL and RTK stations for suitable multilateration, to at provide, along with GSP-
GNSS, sufficient broad “islands” of high-accuracy coverage in an defined wide-area coverage area,
including the major US markets. Over time, such “islands” would be expanded and eventually mostly
merged. Between the islands, the other core techniques would be given greater weight by the tight-
integration system, including INS, which would recalibrate at each island.

Examples of the contemplated islands would be high-traffic highway corridors that are not excessively
surrounded by large man-made structures and hills, especially in interchange area, and other especially
critical areas such as important bridges and tunnels, and areas where high-accident rate exits, or lane-
based ITS applications are planned or most likely to be implemented.

7. System reconfigurable SDR-CR-based receivers in vehicles that receive the GPS-GNSS

signals and determine location, with RTK (and any other) correction, and independently but
simultaneously receive the PL signals and calculate location. The two should be operate
independently but (with the other techniques) would be integrated when both are in operation in an
area to any degree.

8. With on-board advanced computing (that also supports SDR-CR) determination of and
rejection of multipath GNSS and PL signals to the degree possible. Also, use of smart antennas for
this purpose.

9. Use of one of possibly variable bandwidths for the SDR-based PL receives and transmitters,
along with more possibly variable signaling techniques: together sufficient to achieve the needed
accuracy and reliability in real time in actual changing situations, with the unused bandwidth available
for less-real time QoS two-way data services, and in less busy hours, broadcast of data to refresh
onboard data stored (in Telematics computers) of most relevant date for ITS functions, including GIS
map databases, longer-term weather forecasts, roadside and other traveler merchant information, etc.

ATLIS Wireless LLC Page 5

(see the ITS services being considered in the joint CCIT-Telesaurus papers to the ITS World Congress
organizers—downoladables on the Telesaurus website ).

It is possible that the GPS and GNSS systems, which are not to this writer’s knowledge, based on the
capabilities of SDR in receiver, and that do not vary the satellite signaling (or not dependent on
localized situations at least) have not exploited the growing capabilities of true software radios.
However, AWL and AWL Associates plan to use SDR, and can practically do this by use of vehicle-
installed radios (which do not have the power, size, and weight limitations of handheld commercial
wireless devices that thus have not yet been able to use true software radio). Thus, the capabilities of
forecasted advanced SDR, and other onboard computing capabilities, for the subject high-accuracy
vehicle location should be explored.

10. Use of free space lasers at PL-RTK and Communication stations aimed at vehicles along
highways at fixed points in time (may vary with time, such as scanning across a highway’s lanes in a
pattern) to activate onboard sensors to send vehicle ID with time stamp. This would precisely
determine location with even one laser with a suitable vertical angle.

11. Correlation with other vehicles in the vicinity whose location is know by the ITS system to be
more accurate: in one of the “islands” noted above.

12. Use of DSRC stations for similar PL-augmented location determinations. While this5.9 GHz
spectrum is short range, it may be sufficient in local areas for PL location, and that may be a best
method where there is a high level of occlusion and multipath of signals from GNSS and PLS using
900 and 200 MHz.

13. The use of commercial aircraft as supplemental PL transmitters will be considered at an

appropriate stage, especially if AWL completes a feasible band for Air-Ground-Air ITS wireless
integrated with land-based ITS wireless. Generally, when the major urban areas are most congested
with roadway traffic, there is also the most commercial aircraft over such areas and between them on
known flight path and known times. In this regard, Mr. Havens can explain the ideas the AWL
Affiliates have to reuse much of the LMS-M and LMS-N spectrum, and their 217-222 MHz spectrum,
that will be used along highways, also for air-ground-air data communication services along the major
US commercial flight paths (partial spectrum reuse by appropriate placement of stations, directional
antennas, polarization, interference resistant modulations, etc.) This has been studied in part by an
expert Mr. Havens paid to look into this.

14. With the onboard SDR-CR, use of CMRS receiver based location techniques, to the degree
they are useful supplements.

15.+ Other location and implementation techniques being explored, including in areas in the first
numbered list above.

ATLIS Wireless LLC Page 6