The Enterprise Network (TEN), a non-profit entrepreneurial organization that has successfully helped other Silicon Valley businesses grow, is teaming up with Trimble of Sunnyvale to create the new program to help start-ups which are developing new location and navigation products using Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite technology.

The Positioning Information Technology Cluster, sponsored by Trimble and supported by TEN, will help business start-ups grow by providing needed technical and professional assistance. Participants will also have use of shared facilities at a subsidized rent, shared office equipment and administrative services.

``TEN helps startups with similar interests work together in a common location, enabling them to share ideas with each other and with established, successful organizations in the Bay Area,'' said Joe Boeddeker, President and CEO of TEN. ``Through our partners, we connect them with Silicon Valley's civic and business leaders, who serve as advisors and potential investors. Our network also includes the academic community, established Silicon Valley institutions and key government agencies. We also offer them shared facilities and services at a reduced cost.''

Charles R. Trimble, President and Chief Executive Officer of Trimble, said it makes sense for the company, the world leader in satellite and location technology, to be the lead sponsor of the new GPS business cluster.

``Through this program, we're trying to encourage and support the advancement of new location, information and timing applications based on GPS technology,'' Trimble said. ``This is a win-win, as far as we're concerned. By helping startups in this field, we're also advancing the ball with new ideas for products and services using satellite and other location technology.''

Trimble will provide assistance to the entrepreneurial program in a number of ways, including assigning a managing director to help find interested and qualified applicants, and offering a network of resources in support of the program.

Business incubators and clusters have flourished in California in recent years, providing start-ups with a much better than average chance of not only surviving, but prospering. In the past five years, the number of clusters in the state has quadrupled to more than 50, with nearly half in the Bay Area.

The concept of clusters has been tested and proven in focused market segments like software, environmental and multimedia. The results indicate that as many as 80 percent of clustered startups remain in business after five years of operation compared to a survival rate of less than 25 percent for startups who work on their own.

About Trimble

Trimble is a world leader in the emerging commercial markets for GPS satellite-based navigation, positioning and communication data products. The company holds more U.S. patents on GPS and related technology than any other organization. These products are sold world-wide for diverse applications including land and hydrographic surveying; mapping/GIS data acquisition; agriculture; military; general, corporate and commercial aviation; marine navigation; vehicle tracking and communications; and mobile GPS. The company also manufactures and sells GPS engines for the OEM market. Founded in 1978, Trimble has been a leader in providing GPS solutions since 1984.

GPS UPDATE - SpaceDaily Special Report

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