Lead with the geometry, because it is the entire pitch. GPS satellites sit roughly 20,000 kilometers up. A positioning satellite in low Earth orbit is more than twenty times closer, and that proximity means stronger signals, faster geometry changes that aid convergence, and a harder target to jam or spoof. Xona's bet is that distance, working against GPS, works for a LEO layer.
Xona's grant US11640002B2 (inventors including Tyler Gerald René Reid), classified in G01S 19/02 (satellite-based positioning), claims a LEO satellite for enhanced positioning. The companion grant US11668834B2, "Satellite for transmitting a navigation signal in a satellite constellation system," from June 2023 extends the same constellation-level navigation thesis.
The mechanism is signal strength and resilience from proximity. A closer satellite delivers a signal that is orders of magnitude stronger at the receiver, which is both easier to acquire indoors or in cluttered environments and far harder for an adversary to overpower. PNT resilience, position, navigation, and timing that survives jamming, is a growing strategic concern, and a LEO layer is one credible answer.
This matters beyond convenience. Modern infrastructure, from power grids to financial timestamps to defense systems, depends on GPS for precise timing, and GPS's vulnerability to jamming and spoofing is a recognized single point of failure. A LEO navigation layer is an architecture for not having all the eggs in one orbital basket.
The honest limit is that building a navigation constellation is a long, capital-heavy endeavor, and a pair of patents is the start of a roadmap, not proof of a fielded system. The grants tell you Xona staked out the LEO-PNT concept early. Whether the constellation flies in enough numbers to deliver the promised resilience is the open question to watch.