A-GPS Patent Issued to TCS

TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS) (NASDAQ: TSYS) announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent number 7,411,546 for “Other Cell Sites Used As Reference Point To Cull Satellite Ephemeris Information For Quick, Accurate Assisted Locating Satellite Location Determination.” The patent describes a means for using a reference point — other than a cellular base station currently servicing a wireless user — to determine the position of a mobile user.

The TCS invention allows a wireless subscriber’s location to be determined more quickly and accurately than traditional assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS) methods. By using a cell site not currently being used by a wireless user, the invention also allows a best-guess as to the near-future location of a mobile user.

Following the sale of an email patent in the second quarter of this year, TCS now holds 59 patents with 194 applications pending. The new award represents the eighth in TCS’ A-GPS portfolio. A-GPS usage is expected to continue to grow substantially in the future as operators worldwide deploy A-GPS handsets and infrastructure for precise location determination. ABI Research recently predicted shipment of more than 550 million GPS-enabled handsets by 2012.

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