USA seeks alternative to GPS
The US telecoms regulator is looking for clever ideas for additions or alternatives to the GPS positioning system. This is not sufficiently reliable.
The modern air traffic system is unthinkable without GPS.
(Image: Daniel AJ Sokolov)
Alternatives, additions and improvements to the Global Positioning System (GPS) are on the agenda of the US regulatory authority FCC. The authority, which is responsible for allocating satellite radio frequencies in the USA, is planning to launch an extensive investigation. Thanks to Bill Clinton, the world has been benefiting from much more accurate GPS (Global Positioning System) signals for almost 25 years, which were previously reserved for the US military and certain allies. There are probably more GPS receivers on earth today than there are people. However, the enormous success of the positioning system has turned it into an Achilles' heel.
Operated by the US Air Force, the satellite-based system has spawned entire business sectors that no one had thought of, such as location-based dating apps, location-based advertising and games. Supply chains would be unimaginable without GPS, not to mention the quality of the world's food supply without precision agriculture. The GPS market has an annual turnover of hundreds of billions of euros.
The process is perhaps too successful: for some time now, the US Department of Homeland Security has viewed the extensive reliance on GPS as a risk to the country's national security. Targeted jamming operations in the Baltic Sea are currently in the headlines, with researchers suspecting Russian GPS jammers on ships.
The planned FCC investigation
The FCC would like to exchange information with interested groups as part of an inquiry. The aim is to discuss efforts to develop complementary, robust technology. The agency wants to gather comments on various techniques, both in space (possibly in low or medium earth orbits) and on the ground. For example, radio signals from radio and television transmitters, mobile phone networks or WLANs could be used if the location of the respective emitter is known.
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The exchange should be very broad. Issues such as geographical availability, costs, frequency requirements, accuracy, range, durability, international relationships and more are to be addressed. The authority would also like to hear what it can do to strengthen the safety of positioning methods for consumers on the one hand and to promote the spread of alternative or complementary technology on the other. The formal decision to launch the investigation could be taken on March 27.
GPS satellites transmit signals with a very precise time stamp. The receiver can use this to calculate not only the time, but also how long the signal has been traveling. From this, it is possible to deduce how long the distance covered by the radio signal was. If you receive signals from at least four GPS satellites whose location is known at the time of transmission, you can use them to calculate your own position.
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