In the video released by oneNav, an Israeli driver is seen driving on the roads of Haifa. While the location of all devices seen in the video were spoofed to Rafik Al-Hariri Airport in Beirut, the company’s device displayed its correct location. So how do they do it?
Since the beginning of the war in the South and the North, almost every Israeli has experienced the IDF’s proactive GPS jamming . These jammings, intended to damage the capabilities and accuracy of possible attackers, have also led to quite a few first world problems such as malfunctions in applications including Wolt and Movit, and problems when using products like AirTag. But the number one problem we all still encounter is the functionality of Waze, Google Maps and other navigation apps that place us in the heart of Egypt, Lebanon or other locations outside of Israel. Amid all the jamming, an intriguing startup announced last week that it had conducted a test in Israel that proved their technology completely resistant to the GPS disruptions that we have been experiencing.
A trip to Haifa that disrupted navigation on all flagship devices
In the video released by oneNav, a driver can be seen driving on Route 2 in Israel with generic music playing in the background. On top of his dashboard are the most advanced flagship devices in the world: Google Pixel 8 Pro , iPhone 15 Pro Max , Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (alongside a Garmin Forerunner 965 watch and the vehicle’s navigation system). A phone equipped with oneNav technology is mounted next to all these devices. Initially all devices (except for one) show the same location but when the driver reaches the area of the Baha’i Gardens in Haifa, navigation in all devices relocates them to to Rafik El Hariri Airport in Beirut. According to the spokesperson, the oneNav-enabled device continues to pinpoint the driver’s location with an accuracy of one meter.
How do they actually do it?
It’s a bit complex, but in general, GPS technology hasn’t changed too much in the past few decades. In fact, since the introduction of the technology, somewhere in the late 1970s, the same frequency has been used: L1. This is the frequency that ultimately sends information from the satellite and is received by our devices, and is used for trilateration and determining the exact location in the various phones and applications. Since then, a little less than two decades ago, the modern L5 frequency was introduced. L5 is more precise, more powerful and covers wider range making it more resistant to signal disturbances. If you have a device with a relatively modern GPS component, you may already have L5 support, but most of these devices acquire the L1 frequency first before they get to the L5 frequency to pinpoint the user’s location. Thus, if the L1 frequency is not available or disrupted, the L5 frequency will not help you.
Switching to the next generation of GPS
So even though L5 is not yet widespread, oneNav is going all out and offering GPS receiver technology called L5-direct that uses only the L5-band frequency. “We now have clear and indisputable proof that the L5-direct technology is resistant to GPS interference and can display an accurate location even in problematic locations,” claimed the company’s CEO, Steve Poizner. “This test is a real proof of our unique technology and proves the potential of L5-direct to change the way we use GPS for civilian and military purposes in Israel and around the world.”
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