From Locata's website "The world of GPS changes forever in 2011. It’s no longer just about satellites…"
"Locata's technology involves installing a network of "LocataLites"--devices about the size of a hardback book--in several known locations across an area. These devices function like grounded versions of GPS satellites, sending out signals that receivers use to get a location fix. LocataLites transmit signals using the same frequency as Wi-Fi, and they can each cover several kilometers. "We introduce a local constellation that works like the one in space," says Nunzio Gambale, one of Locata's two cofounders. "It's just much cheaper and more accurate."
The technology is already being used to track munitions on the U.S. Air Force's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, where an upgraded system will soon cover an area of 6,474 square kilometers. The Boddington gold mine in Western Australia is using Locata's technology to position digging and drilling equipment with high accuracy. It is a convenient alternative to manually surveying the insides of the deep opencast mine, the walls of which block GPS signals. The same effect often weakens or blocks GPS signals in urban environments."
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