u-blox and Position Partners join forces to expand mass-market GPS augmentation service to Australia, New Zealand

The collaboration will bring the u-blox PointPerfect service’s dm-level positioning accuracies to mass-market applications such as automotive and micromobility

u-blox (SIX:UBXN), a leading global provider of positioning and wireless communication technologies and services, and Position Partners, an Australasian provider of intelligent positioning solutions, have signed an MoU of cooperation to expand the availability of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) augmentation services in Australia and New Zealand. The partnership with Position Partners is another step on the path to offering customers global coverage of the u-blox PointPerfect GNSS augmentation service.

A mass-market-focused offering for Australia, New Zealand

Position Partners is a well-established provider of real-time kinematic (RTK) GNSS augmentation data across Australia and New Zealand. The company was seeking to complement its current AllDayRTK offering, which primarily targets construction, mining, and agriculture applications requiring high precision positioning technology, with a mass-market-focused offering that scales effortlessly and allows for more cost-effective distribution models.

Position Partners identified u-blox’s PPP-RTK PointPerfect GNSS augmentation service as the ideal solution for automotive, micromobiity, and industrial applications. A key factor in favor of PointPerfect was the service’s broadcast nature, allowing it to be delivered to any number of customers using a single GNSS augmentation data stream. Moreover, pay-as-you-go distribution models increase the service’s attractiveness, ensuring that customers only pay for the services they use.

A further step towards global service coverage

The availability of mass-market high precision positioning has given rise to a slew of new, innovative applications across automotive, industrial, and consumer markets. The geographical fragmentation of GNSS augmentation services has, however, been a thorn in the side of product manufacturers, including carmakers and their suppliers, who would benefit from being able to design their autonomous driving solutions to use the same service in all markets.

By bringing u-blox PointPerfect service coverage to Australia and New Zealand, the partnership with Position Partners will contribute to building such a globally uniform service. PointPerfect is already available in Europe and the Continental USA and is in the process of expanding across key Asian markets.

Superior service for all customers

“We look forward to offering customers and partners throughout Australia and New Zealand the u-blox PointPerfect GNSS augmentation service,” says James Millner, Positioning Infrastructure Manager at Position Partners. “PointPerfect will complement our AllDayRTK network service and open up new opportunities for applications such as field robotics, GNSS-enabled Internet of Things, safety, and intelligent mobility solutions.”

“This partnership with Position Partners is another steppingstone towards our strategic objective of enabling new automotive, industrial, and consumer applications with a globally available, mass-market-focused GNSS augmentation service,” says Franco de Lorenzo Principal Product Owner, Product Center Services, at u-blox.