GPS inventor: We need to fix GPS's jamming problem

guest · Dec 12, 2019

GPS inventor: We need to fix GPS's jamming problem
As we become ever-more reliant on GPS, the prospect of it going down seems increasingly worrying
December 12, 2019
https://www.zdnet.com/article/gps-inventor-we-need-to-fix-gpss-jamming-problem/

Almost half a century ago, the US Department of Defense started working on an experimental project to launch a series of satellites into space to make it possible to pinpoint any location on Earth.
Fast-forward 47 years, and the Global Positioning System (GPS) is everywhere and in everything from the activity-tracking applications in our smartphones to the navigation systems found in airplanes.

And now, Parkinson argues that the technology has to be protected from its biggest threat: jamming.
Jamming happens when too much noise is broadcast by third parties on the same frequencies used by satellites to send data to receivers on the ground, which in turn calculate their location by determining their distance from the satellite.

"We have to protect these frequencies," said Parkinson. "There are several billion people worldwide depending on them – and I don't think many are very good at reading a map if their GPS fails them."
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"The FCC could license nearby frequencies to the point that it would degrade GPS. No one believes me, but they are so close. To allow it would be to deliberately allow a licence to a jam and make it legal."

And yet, there is much to lose from a failure of GPS signal, and not only for consumers relying on Google Maps for their morning commute. The UK Space Agency, for example, estimated that a five-day GPS outage could cost the UK economy more than £5 billion ($6.5 billion).

For him, the solution is pretty straight-forward. "Have companies stick to the license they've got", he said. "And if you really love them, find them another frequency band. But don't jam the GPS one."
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