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The Department of Commerce is involved in a wide variety of issues and activities related to the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS). These include GPS policy and management, GPS modernization, international GPS cooperation, and GPS interference and spectrum management. Learn more about these issues at GPS.gov
The Department’s interest in GPS comes from its multiple roles as a user of GPS, provider of a GPS augmentation service (CORS), representative of commercial GPS manufacturers and users, member of the federal body that coordinates GPS matters, and regulator of GPS-related radio spectrum (NTIA), technology exports (BIS), and intellectual property (USPTO).
On June 9, the Office of Space Commercialization co-chaired the seventh meeting of the GPS-Galileo Working Group “B” on Trade and Civil Applications in Vienna, Austria. The meeting occurred on the margins of some meetings of the UN-affiliated International Committee on …
Jason Kim of the Office of Space Commercialization spoke about GNSS market access at last week’s meetings of the International Committee on GNSS (ICG) and ICG Providers’ Forum in Prague, Czech Republic. He presented U.S. concerns about GNSS-related measures that may affect …
Presentation on International GNSS Market Access Read more »
On June 5-6, the Office of Space Commercialization participated in a series of meetings in Spain to discuss U.S. space/GNSS cooperation with the European Union. The Office co-chaired a meeting of the GPS-Galileo Working Group “B” on Trade and Civil …
On April 28, 2014, the Air Force began broadcasting civil navigation (CNAV) messages on all operational GPS satellites capable of transmitting the L2C and L5 signals. L2C and L5 are the first of several new civil capabilities being added to …
Air Force Adds Navigation Data to Modernized Civil GPS Signals Read more »
On March 25, the Office of Space Commercialization co-chaired a meeting of the GPS-Galileo Working Group on Trade and Civil Applications in Munich, Germany. It was the fifth such meeting since the group’s establishment under the U.S.-EU agreement on GPS-Galileo …
The governments of the United States and Japan held their 10th plenary meeting in Tokyo, Japan, on July 24, 2013, to review and discuss cooperation in the civil use of GPS and the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS). The Office of …
2013 Joint Announcement on U.S.-Japan GPS Cooperation Read more »
The governments of the United Kingdom and the United States today announced that they had reached a common understanding of intellectual property rights related to GPS and will work together to address broader global navigation satellite systems’ intellectual property issues. …
Joint UK–U.S. Statement Regarding GPS Intellectual Property Read more »
On February 14, 2012, the FCC announced that, based on NTIA’s recommendation, “the Commission will not lift the prohibition” on LightSquared’s terrestrial network operations. NTIA delivered its recommendation to the FCC earlier that day after assessing the test results from …
The governments of the United States and Japan held their 9th plenary meeting in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 2012, to review and discuss cooperation in the civil use of space-based positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) systems. The Department of …
2012 Joint Announcement on U.S.-Japan GPS Cooperation Read more »
On September 8, 2011, the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology held a hearing on the impacts of the LightSquared network on federal science activities. Officials from NOAA, NASA, DOT, USGS, and the National Coordination Office for Space-Based PNT …
House Science Committee Hearing on LightSquared Impacts to GPS Read more »
On September 8, the House Science Committee will hold a public hearing on the proposed LightSquared wireless communications network and its potential interference to GPS users. NOAA Deputy Under Secretary for Operations Mary Glackin will discuss possible impacts to NOAA’s …
NOAA Official to Testify on GPS Interference Issue Read more »
In March 2011, the American Meteorological Society published a report on “Satellite Navigation & Space Weather: Understanding the Vulnerability & Building Resilience,” based on a workshop it conducted on the topic in October 2010. The Office of Space Commercialization participated …
AMS Report on Satellite Navigation and Space Weather Read more »