In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 Congress will mandate that the DOD perform evaluations on the signal interference of "commercial" signals with GPS.
And they will authorize that our top secret geospatial intelligence can be reviewed by foreign universities and entities. Here is some of the language:
SEC. 913. REVIEW TO IDENTIFY INTERFERENCE WITH NATIONAL SECURITY GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM RECEIVERS BY COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.
(a) Sense of Congress- It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the reliable provision of precision navigation and timing signals by Global
Positioning System satellites owned and operated by the Department of Defense is
critical to the economy, public health and safety, and the national security of
the United States;
(2) any interference with the signals of the Global Positioning System satellites
or the various receivers that use those signals would be extraordinarily
disruptive; and
(3) the Federal Communications Commission should ensure that the signals of Global Positioning System satellites can be received without interruption or interference.
(b) Review- Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 90 days thereafter until the termination date described in subsection (d), the Secretary of Defense shall conduct a review--
(1) to assess the ability of national security Global Positioning System receivers to receive the signals of Global Positioning System satellites without interruption or interference; and
(2) to determine if commercial communications services are causing or will cause widespread or harmful interference with national security Global Positioning System receivers.
(c) Notification to Congress-
(1) IN GENERAL- If the Secretary determines under subsection (b)(2) that commercial communications services are causing or will cause widespread or harmful interference with national security Global Positioning System receivers, the Secretary shall promptly submit to the congressional defense committees a report notifying those committees of the interference.
(2) ELEMENTS- The report required by paragraph (1) shall include the following:
(A) A list and description of the national security Global Positioning System receivers that are being or are expected to be interfered with by commercial communications services.
(B) A description of the source of, and the entity causing or expected to cause, the interference with those receivers.
(C) A description of the manner in which that source or entity is causing or is expected to cause the interference.
(D) A description of the magnitude of harm caused or expected to be caused by the interference.
(E) A description of the duration of and the conditions and circumstances under which the interference is occurring or is expected to occur.
(F) A description of the impact of the interference on the national security interests of the United States.
(G) A description of the plans of the Secretary to address, alleviate, or mitigate the interference or the harm caused or expected to be caused by the interference.
(d) Termination Date Described- The requirement that the Secretary conduct the review under subsection (b) and submit the report under subsection (c) shall terminate on the earlier of--
(1) the date that is 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act; or
(2) the date on which the Secretary--
(A) determines that there is no widespread or harmful interference with national security Global Positioning System receivers by commercial communication services; and
(B) notifies the congressional defense committees of that determination.
Subtitle C--Intelligence Matters
SEC. 921. EXPANSION OF AUTHORITY FOR EXCHANGES OF MAPPING, CHARTING, AND GEODETIC DATA TO INCLUDE NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AND ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS.
(a) Broadening of Authority- Section 454 of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by inserting `(a) Foreign Countries and International Organizations- ' before `The Secretary of Defense'; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
`(b) Nongovernmental Organizations and Academic Institutions- The Secretary may authorize the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to exchange or furnish mapping, charting, and geodetic data, supplies, and services relating to areas outside of the United States to a nongovernmental organization or an academic institution engaged in geospatial information research or production of such areas pursuant to an agreement for the production or exchange of such data.'.
(b) Conforming Amendments-
(1) SECTION HEADING- The heading of such section is amended to read as follows:
`Sec. 454. Exchange of mapping, charting, and geodetic data with foreign countries, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and academic institutions'.
(2) TABLE OF SECTIONS- The table of sections at the beginning of subchapter II of chapter 22 of such title is amended by striking the item relating to section 454 and inserting the following new item:
`454. Exchange of mapping, charting, and geodetic data with foreign countries, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and academic institutions.'.
I haven't been following the Lightsquared matter in detail, but a quick reading of the sections quoted above isn't very encouraging. It sounds like reactionary rather than preemptive legislation, under which Lightsquared can implement its network and the Secretary of Defense will report to the congressional defense committees if Lightsquared breaks GPS. There's nothing in it authorizing a mitigation process, let alone the means for preventing interference before it becomes a fact.
It sounds like the fix is in.
Didn't the DOD already run tests against LS and say they didn't like the results?
> (1) IN GENERAL- If the Secretary determines under subsection (b)(2) that commercial communications services are causing or will cause widespread or harmful interference with national security Global Positioning System receivers, the Secretary shall promptly submit to the congressional defense committees a report notifying those committees of the interference.
Yeah, that sounds like the bill that LightSquared would want. The bad ole Secretary of Defense has to provide a detailed list of every MILITARY GPS device that is being adversely affected and then the congressional committee can TALK ABOUT IT, presumably with testimony from Uncle Javad that someone forgot to include his seventy-cent filter in the problem device.
Thanks Gavin.
I'm wondering, have you ever been contacted or tried to make yourself available for comments when this gets the occasional mainstream media coverage? All I ever hear is Light-Squared's side (filled with half-truths and outright lies) and news stories that try to politicize the facts. Never heard or seen a GPS expert or manufacture get a second of air time from mainstream media.
I do occassionally hear LSQ get airtime on the regular cable news networks and even on CNBC, and there is always some passing mention of the problem with GPS interference, that gets brushed off with some lie about "problem solved", or whatever. I even saw the problem mentioned on a brief local news broadcast. I was just curious if the news outlets ever seek the opposing view. With Lightsquared put on the full-court media blitz, taking out full page ads, press releases, etc., that put the blame on the GPS industry, military, etc., you'd think some reporter would want to get the counter argument.
I think this would make a great 60 minutes piece. How do we get a hold of Steve Kroft 😉
We have lots of control out there now. Surveying using a total station is not hard and there are real advantages to using plane surveying techniques. That is true for boundary's and construction, the geod types out there are not surveyors in the common historical use of the term and what turns them on is not boundary law or Plane Surveying techniques, small projects but many of them. We can get along without GPS for surveying, I just hope the defense department has an alternative guidance system on line. If not and light squared gets the upper hand, then they and everyone who financed or supported them should lose it during the treason trials that need to follow. Our little discomfort is not much of an issue, National Defense, is.
jud
> We can get along without GPS for surveying.....
Maybe you can, but it would turn my world upside down.
I could do it, I have done it, but it would be taking a step backwards, heck, 3 or 4 steps backwards.
As a solo surveyor, GPS is what gives me an edge against the competition. I understand how it works and what it's limitations are and I push it to it's limits every time I use it.
My van has GPS, a robot, a total station, and a chain and plumb bob. I wouldn't want to leave the house without any of them. And I sure don't want somebody telling me I have to.
Cheers,
Dugger
"With Lightsquared put on the full-court media blitz, taking out full page ads, press releases, etc."
Does this bill happen to be S.1867? If so, the part dealing with GPS usage might be the least of our worries about the bill. If not, I hope you're not a member of, say, alt-market.com, or something similar.
Everything's 'political' anymore.
Good post Adam,
There is an excellent "read" out there, "Reckles$ Endangerment: How outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon" (2011) by Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner.
This book is an easy read so far as the story is concerned but it gets into some pretty heavy details with regard to the inner-workings of the Federal government and Wall Street financial institutions - specifically with regard to Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac and the subprime mortgage crisis. I am glad I read it, but it made me angry and more cynical of the rarely challenged assumption that more education is "good."
I see an uncanny parallel with the methods described there (on-going for a number of years) and the saga unfolding in the LightSquared debate. In both cases an enormous benefit to society is exploited by the "smart guys" who know how to and have the resources to "game" the system.
I am not convinced that we (precise GPS users) will ever beat back implementation of the LightSquared 4G network, but we MUST do whatever we can to prevent ANY detrimental impact on the use of precise GPS location technology. It would be tragic indeed if we (society) failed to learn from lessons of the recent past.
Light^2
Let me take this opportunity to thank Gavin Schrock for his continued efforts in the matter of ongoing LightSquared questions and answers. None of it has escaped me, because my continued existence as a service provider in the GNSS world (which is my sole means of income) has now become largely contingent upon this issue. I think that one of Gavin's recent points may have gone relatively unnoticed. That is this: The country who with taxpayer dollars developed this now ubiquitous worldwide asset and made it available free gratis to the rest of the world, may soon become the only country on Earth who cannot use it to its fullest extent. Think about that.
Would also like to respond to Jud's comment that it's no problem: USA surveyors can easily go back to conventional (terrestrial) techniques for the purposes of land surveying. This is a ridiculous notion. The obvious question is WHY? I was trained at my Daddy's knee on a 1908 Gurley Mountain transit and a 100' steel chain. Later I graduated to digital theodolites and EDM's. When I first went to sea as a hydrographic surveyor, we used any and all technological developments available at the time (Doppler Sonar, Raydist, ARGO, Syledis, DGPS, OmniStar etc). Why in the world would ocean surveyors choose to go back to the astrolabe and the sextant? Captain Cook must be rolling in his grave, wherever his bones were spread. This is tantamount to what Jud is suggesting for land surveyors in the USA. We are quickly becoming a 3rd world country in terms of education, health services and infrastructure. All because of good old American Greed, of which LightSquared is a prime example.
Here's a good read: From Sails to Satellites
and here's a good tune:You'd a thought we'd know better by now
