[IGSMAIL-1267] Latest GPS policy news

[Geoff]

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IGS Electronic Mail      Fri Mar 29 11:42:25 PST 1996      Message Number 1267
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Author: Geoff Blewitt
Subject: Latest GPS policy news

NEWS RELEASE

Clinton Will Let Businesses
Widen Use of Satellite System

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton is expected to sign a directive Thursday,
phasing out restrictions that the Pentagon had placed on civilian use of
the government's sophisticated satellite-navigation system.

The new policy, which would grant expanded use of the system to U.S.
airlines, auto makers and other commercial enterprises, is expected to be
unveiled formally by Vice President Al Gore Friday. The satellite
technology can pinpoint the location of users anywhere in the world, from
the skies to golf courses.

The Pentagon's restrictions, based on national-security concerns, have
limited the accuracy of the satellite-navigation system, reducing its uses
for civilian purposes and raising a concern among potential foreign buyers
that the military's control on the technology was too tight. The new
policy follows a recommendation from Rand Corp., which estimated the
satellite-navigation industry is likely to grow to $8.5 billion a year by
the end of the century from the current $1 billion.

The policy shift ''will be a huge boost to business,'' said Frank
O'Mahony, a spokesman at Trimble Navigation
Ltd., a leading maker of the small, portable radio receivers that are used
to pick up information from a 24-satellite network, enabling the users on
land, sea or in the air to pinpoint their exact location. For example,
drivers can figure out how to avoid traffic jams by using car-navigation
systems based on this technology.

The announcement isn't likely to mean much to the makers of satellites,
because the U.S. and commercial users will continue to use the 24
satellites that are already in orbit. Other potential commercial
beneficiaries on the ground include Rockwell International Corp., Sony
Corp. and General Motors Corp.

Another important feature of the new policy is that it apparently rejects
proposals that the U.S. charge fees to users of the satellite technology,
which started in the 1970s as a Defense Department project. Prepared by
the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the policy means
the U.S. will continue upkeep of the satellite system without curbing or
charging for commercial use.

A White House official said, ''This new policy will do a better job of
balancing national-security needs with civil and commercial-sector uses''
for the satellite-navigation system.

''It's long overdue,'' said Marvin White, general manager of the
commercial division of Etak Inc., a Menlo Park, Calif., unit of News
Corp., which sells the technology to users such as ambulance services in
Albuquerque, N.M., Kansas City, Mo., and Baltimore. Other Etak customers
include the makers of car navigation systems such as Motorola Inc. ''We
would be delighted'' with a phase-out of military restrictions on the
signals, Mr. White said. ''That would make using maps and navigation
equipment less expensive,'' because users would need one receiver instead
of two receivers to unscramble satellite signals.

The Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. carriers are expected to
increase use of the system for air-traffic-control needs, and are already
experimenting with it in the Pacific. UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and
others have been investing in the system for their flying operations over
places such as Russia and China,
where language difficulties often hinder air-navigation efforts.

Car rental companies such as Hertz, Avis and National have already been
experimenting with navigation systems. ProShot Golf Inc., Newport Beach,
Calif., just signed a deal with Trimble to develop advanced
satellite-navigation parts for golf products; already, it uses the
technology on golf carts to tell golfers how far they are from the green.


[Mailed From: Geoffrey Blewitt <Geoffrey.Blewitt at newcastle.ac.uk>]


[Mailed From: Robert Liu <robliu at igscb.jpl.nasa.gov>]