Murata Manufacturing and Xona Space Systems, a commercial space company building the next era of global positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) infrastructure, have signed a memorandum of understanding to improve the accuracy and reliability of satellite PNT technologies. The companies will explore the potential to provide optimal products and solutions by combining Murata’s long-standing expertise in high-frequency and wireless communications, sensors, timing devices, and module design with Xona’s advanced LEO2-based positioning and timing synchronization technologies.
PNT is a foundational technology that plays a critical role in supporting modern society across communications infrastructure, industrial equipment, mobility, consumer IoT and other sectors. Conventional PNT systems have primarily relied on GNSS3 for positioning and timing synchronization using medium Earth orbit satellites (MEO4). However, these systems face challenges such as reduced availability and accuracy in urban environments, and are vulnerable to increased threats from jamming and spoofing. In contrast, LEO satellites orbit closer to Earth, they can deliver stronger signals to the ground, which improves signal reception in city centers and indoor environments. In addition, their higher orbital speed compared with GNSS enables observation data in a shorter period of time, which enhances performance in urban areas via accelerated convergence times and reduction in multipath errors. Against this backdrop, technologies that combine satellites in different orbital layers, including LEO, are attracting attention as an approach to complement and strengthen the accuracy and reliability of PNT, with growing interest in their adoption for higher precision and enhanced resilience.
Xona offers “Pulsar,” a PNT service based on a satellite network composed of a constellation of dedicated LEO satellites with significantly stronger signals than traditional GNSS systems. As a purpose-built modern PNT service, Pulsar aims to achieve centimeter-level positioning accuracy, greater performance in urban areas, and enhanced resilience against jamming and spoofing. Pulsar is also compatible with GNSS, enabling these enhanced capabilities to be integrated with typical GNSS user equipment in a way that complements and improves existing systems.
Murata has previously invested in Xona through WONDERSTONE Ventures, Murata’s corporate venture capital (CVC) arm, and this initiative represents part of an ongoing collaboration built upon the existing relationship between the two companies. Based on this MOU, the two companies will explore the potential to provide optimal products and solutions by combining Murata’s long-standing expertise in high-frequency and wireless communications, sensors, timing devices, and module design with Xona’s advanced LEO-based PNT positioning and timing synchronization technologies, with the goal of realizing highly accurate and highly reliable positioning and timing synchronization.
Looking ahead, the companies will evaluate potential applications in data centers and financial institutions that require highly accurate timing synchronization to support 5G/6G communications, as well as in off-road industries such as construction and agricultural machinery, where positioning needs are high in environments where GNSS is difficult to use. Through these efforts, the companies aim to enhance performance and create new solutions across various sectors. Murata recognizes the space domain as a new growth area and will continue to contribute to the evolution of social infrastructure and the creation of new value by advancing foundational technologies such as positioning and timing synchronization.
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