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Spirent and Qascom Collaborate to Offer World’s First Commercially Available OSNMA Simulation Tools

By Eric Van Rees - 24th September 2021 - 12:12

Spirent Communications plc (LSE:SPT), a provider of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) testing and assurance solutions, and Qascom, providers of GNSS security solutions, announced the industry’s first simulation test solution for the Galileo Open Service Navigation Message Authentication (OSNMA) mechanism.

SimOSNMA is designed to work with Spirent’s market leading GNSS simulation platforms to test OSNMA signal conformance, which will bring new levels of robustness for both civilian and commercial GNSS uses.

SimOSNMA provides developers with vital new simulation tools to test for OSNMA, the security protocol which enables GNSS receivers to verify the authenticity of signals distributed from the Galileo satellite constellation. Designed to combat signal falsification or “spoofing”, OSNMA ensures the data received is authentic and has not been modified in any way. It is currently completing the test phase before its formal launch, and SimOSNMA enables developers to simulate and test OSNMA signals and features, allowing GNSS receiver manufacturers and application developers to accelerate and assure development programs.

A leader in GNSS resilience, Qascom has been a significant contributor to the development of Galileo OSNMA, helping to create the main test vectors for early testing and leading the Position Authenticated Tachograph for OSNMA Launch (PATROL) project, which is the European Union Agency for the Space Program (EUSPA) procurement looking at the implementation of OSNMA into automotive and mass-market GNSS receivers. The combination of Qascom and Spirent expertise will provide developers with a head start in adopting and leveraging the new OSNMA capabilities.

“During the development of the first OSNMA receiver prototype, we needed a tool that would allow us to run tests in a controlled and repeatable environment, generate reference data, test corner cases and system events that seldomly occur in reality,” said Head of Security Engineering Domain Area at Qascom, Carlo Sarto. “SimOSNMA will allow industries and agencies to speed up the development and qualification of their systems.”

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