Tag: Department of Transportation

Opinion: The U.S. needs GPS backup and IoT resilience

America’s dependence on GPS is a matter of national security, economic vitality, and daily life. We all agree: the United States must develop strong, resilient alternatives to satellite-based positioning, navigation and timing (PNT). The question, ironically enough, is how to get where we want to go.

Z-Wave Alliance, whose members build the smart home, security, and automation devices used in millions of homes and buildings, fully supports the federal effort to harden PNT infrastructure. We have been active contributors to the FCC’s Notice of Inquiry (WT 25-110) and the Department of Transportation’s Complementary PNT (CPNT) research program. We have provided and assessed technical data to help identify which terrestrial and space-based solutions can truly coexist with the technologies Americans already use every day.

A Known Risk

NextNav has petitioned the FCC to restructure parts of the lower 900 MHzband to host a terrestrial 5G/PNT network—essentially a ground-based GPS complement. The company’s plan would allocate parts of that band for high-power transmissions and relax the long-standing protections that keep low-power (Part 15) devices from destructive interference.

That same spectrum underpins hundreds of millions of existing systems: connected security sensors, toll-booth readers, smart meters, building automation networks, and the smart home products consumers rely on every day. These devices operate safely and efficiently because the FCC’s Part 15 rules limit interference and prohibit high-power operations in this shared public band.

Robust technical analysis, most recently the Pericle Communications study commissioned by the Security Industry Association, shows that high-power terrestrial PNT transmissions would block or degrade low-power communications up to 60 percent of the time. In plain terms, that means alarms that fail to trigger, silent sensors, and lost connectivity for devices that safeguard homes, businesses, and infrastructure.

Evidence indicates these devices could degrade significantly in performance, often to the point of un-usability. Once the band is reclassified, there’s no practical way to “retrofit” the millions of products already deployed. The result would be billions of dollars in stranded hardware, irrecoverable damage to company reputations, and a long, expensive replacement cycle for utilities, business owners, and consumers.

This isn’t an argument against terrestrial PNT. It’s an argument for evidence-based engineering.
— Avi Rosenthal

Multiple Paths to Resilient PNT

This isn’t an argument against terrestrial PNT. It’s an argument for evidence-based engineering. The Department of Transportation has identified several categories of GPS-complement technologies, including low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, time-over-fiber distribution, map matching/map tracking, and terrestrial RF. NextNav’s 900 MHz concept falls into the fourth category, but it’s only one of many.

The FCC recognized this when it opened its broad Notice of Inquiry in March 2025 instead of rushing into rulemaking. Other federally funded trials, such as the Broadcast Positioning System developed by NAB and UrsaNav’s eLoran solution, show that terrestrial PNT can be achieved without displacing unlicensed Part 15 devices.

Engineering redundancy into national infrastructure demands that we test multiple solutions in parallel, not gamble on a single proprietary approach that risks breaking what already works.

Coexistence Is the Standard, Not the Exception

Across every modern wireless domain — Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave, LoRa, Wi-SUN — coexistence testing is standard practice. Before a new technology enters a shared spectrum, it must demonstrate that it can live alongside incumbents. NextNav has not done that. Its coexistence claims rely primarily on simulations using optimistic assumptions about device density and duty cycle. Real-world deployments are far denser and far noisier.

Z-Wave and our industry partners simply ask for what every responsible engineer would: comprehensive, transparent field testing before the FCC alters the rules of a crowded band. That’s not obstructionism: it’s diligence.

Building Forward, Not Backward

Our message is simple: the U.S. needs PNT redundancy, but it must be built on coexistence, not displacement.

America’s connected infrastructure relies on the lower 900 MHz band precisely because it has been open, unlicensed, and reliable. Allowing a single licensee to flood that band with high-power signals would trade resilience for fragility.

Z-Wave Alliance stands ready to collaborate with the FCC, DOT, and all research participants to ensure the U.S. gets the GPS backup it deserves: one that strengthens, rather than undermines, the technologies that keep Americans safe, secure, and connected every day. To learn more, follow Z-Wave Alliance on LinkedIn and across social platforms: we are committed to keeping the U.S. technology community up-to-date on key proposal developments and opportunities to make their voices heard.

November 11, 2025
The U.S. needs GPS backup and IoT resilience

America’s dependence on GPS is a matter of national security, economic vitality, and daily life. We all agree: the United States must develop strong, resilient alternatives to satellite-based positioning, navigation and timing (PNT). The question, ironically enough, is how to get where we want to go.

Z-Wave Alliance, whose members build the smart home, security, and automation devices used in millions of homes and buildings, fully supports the federal effort to harden PNT infrastructure. We have been active contributors to the FCC’s Notice of Inquiry (WT 25-110) and the Department of Transportation’s Complementary PNT (CPNT) research program. We have provided and assessed technical data to help identify which terrestrial and space-based solutions can truly coexist with the technologies Americans already use every day.

A Known Risk

NextNav has petitioned the FCC to restructure parts of the lower 900 MHzband to host a terrestrial 5G/PNT network—essentially a ground-based GPS complement. The company’s plan would allocate parts of that band for high-power transmissions and relax the long-standing protections that keep low-power (Part 15) devices from destructive interference.

That same spectrum underpins hundreds of millions of existing systems: connected security sensors, toll-booth readers, smart meters, building automation networks, and the smart home products consumers rely on every day. These devices operate safely and efficiently because the FCC’s Part 15 rules limit interference and prohibit high-power operations in this shared public band.

Robust technical analysis, most recently the Pericle Communications study commissioned by the Security Industry Association, shows that high-power terrestrial PNT transmissions would block or degrade low-power communications up to 60 percent of the time. In plain terms, that means alarms that fail to trigger, silent sensors, and lost connectivity for devices that safeguard homes, businesses, and infrastructure.

Evidence indicates these devices could degrade significantly in performance, often to the point of un-usability. Once the band is reclassified, there’s no practical way to “retrofit” the millions of products already deployed. The result would be billions of dollars in stranded hardware, irrecoverable damage to company reputations, and a long, expensive replacement cycle for utilities, business owners, and consumers.

This isn’t an argument against terrestrial PNT. It’s an argument for evidence-based engineering.
— Avi Rosenthal

Multiple Paths to Resilient PNT

This isn’t an argument against terrestrial PNT. It’s an argument for evidence-based engineering. The Department of Transportation has identified several categories of GPS-complement technologies, including low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, time-over-fiber distribution, map matching/map tracking, and terrestrial RF. NextNav’s 900 MHz concept falls into the fourth category, but it’s only one of many.

The FCC recognized this when it opened its broad Notice of Inquiry in March 2025 instead of rushing into rulemaking. Other federally funded trials, such as the Broadcast Positioning System developed by NAB and UrsaNav’s eLoran solution, show that terrestrial PNT can be achieved without displacing unlicensed Part 15 devices.

Engineering redundancy into national infrastructure demands that we test multiple solutions in parallel, not gamble on a single proprietary approach that risks breaking what already works.

Coexistence Is the Standard, Not the Exception

Across every modern wireless domain — Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave, LoRa, Wi-SUN — coexistence testing is standard practice. Before a new technology enters a shared spectrum, it must demonstrate that it can live alongside incumbents. NextNav has not done that. Its coexistence claims rely primarily on simulations using optimistic assumptions about device density and duty cycle. Real-world deployments are far denser and far noisier.

Z-Wave and our industry partners simply ask for what every responsible engineer would: comprehensive, transparent field testing before the FCC alters the rules of a crowded band. That’s not obstructionism: it’s diligence.

Building Forward, Not Backward

Our message is simple: the U.S. needs PNT redundancy, but it must be built on coexistence, not displacement.

America’s connected infrastructure relies on the lower 900 MHz band precisely because it has been open, unlicensed, and reliable. Allowing a single licensee to flood that band with high-power signals would trade resilience for fragility.

Z-Wave Alliance stands ready to collaborate with the FCC, DOT, and all research participants to ensure the U.S. gets the GPS backup it deserves: one that strengthens, rather than undermines, the technologies that keep Americans safe, secure, and connected every day. To learn more, follow Z-Wave Alliance on LinkedIn and across social platforms: we are committed to keeping the U.S. technology community up-to-date on key proposal developments and opportunities to make their voices heard.

November 11, 2025
Iridium gets USDOT contract for complementary PNT services

Iridium Communications is working with T-Mobile to on a broad network deployment of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services, starting with live-site activations across the United States. The deployments will deliver 5G network complementary timing synchronization to strengthen the cellular network’s resilience and help ensure reliability for customers.

The project follows Iridium’s selection by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for an award through its Complementary PNT Action Plan Rapid Phase Award II.

The U.S. Department of Transportation CPNT Action Plan is designed to evaluate mature and commercially available CPNT technologies to strengthen PNT resilience and enhance the safety of critical infrastructure, like 5G networks. DOT is the U.S. government’s civil lead for PNT.

Under the contract, T-Mobile will expand its installation of Iridium PNT receivers to 90 additional live 5G network sites in geographically diverse locations. Iridium PNT will help protect against GPS disruptions that cause downtime and compromise the data integrity and performance of 5G networks, which rely on coordinated, precise timing to deliver the necessary speed, capacity and reliability of service to end-users.

T-Mobile will also perform nominal and adverse user equipment exercises at its indoor testing range. It has the necessary wireless infrastructure for DOT, Iridium, and T-Mobile to observe and record results.

Capable of sub-100-nanosecond accuracy — better than a millionth of a second — and secured using cryptographic techniques, Iridium PNT signals are 1,000 times stronger than GNSS systems like GPS and work inside buildings with no need for an outdoor antenna. The service is delivered by Iridium’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, which provides global weather-resilient L-band connectivity.

October 24, 2025
DOT issues solicitation for CPNT services
The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued a solicitation to obtain proposals from vendors with operationally ready complementary positioning, navigation and timing (CPNT) services to be used for testing and evaluation in the Rapid Phase of the DOT’s CPNT Action Plan.

The Volpe Center is seeking proposals from industry professionals to deploy PNT services with a technical readiness level (TRL) of eight or higher.

The evaluation conditions will include situations where GPS/GNSS service is disrupted or manipulated, and CPNT‐specific threat vectors are introduced. Proposals are encouraged to be tailored to critical infrastructure PNT user requirements with the expectation that Rapid Phase evaluation results will be shared with sector risk management agencies (SRMAs) through the Federal interagency process to drive CPNT adoption.

According to the Volpe Center, it is prepared to make multiple awards if multiple proposals meet the solicitation requirements.

Responses to the request for quotation (RFQ) should include the bidder’s preferred test range model(s) out of the following three proposed models, where the proposed CPNT service can quickly become operationally ready to meet the Rapid Phase timeline objectives — no later than six months after award:
1. Federal Government‐hosted test range
2. Critical infrastructure test range
3. Vendor-fielded test range
Offers are due March 25, 2024. Click here for more information.
February 13, 2024
US DOT approves $2.5B in bonds for Brightline West rail project

Image: Brightline

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has approved $2.5 billion worth of bonds to help fund the Brightline West high-speed rail project connecting Las Vegas, Nevada, and Southern California.

The 218-mile line, estimated to cost $12 billion in total, will run along the I-15 median with electric trains capable of running at 186 mph.

The DOT previously approved private activity bonds of $1 billion for the project in 2020. The second tranche of private activity bonds brings the total to $3.5 billion. In December 2023, the DOT also awarded a $3 billion grant from President Biden’s infrastructure law to the Nevada DOT for the project.

In June 2023, DOT awarded a $25 million grant to San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Program to be used for the construction of the Brightline West stations in Hesperia and Victor Valley, California.

Brightline West is expected to break ground in early 2024.

January 30, 2024
First fix: Driving adoption of complementary PNT

Image: adamkaz/E+/Getty Images

Warning sirens about the vulnerabilities of GPS to jamming, spoofing, solar activity and other disruptions have been blaring for many years. Now the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), which represents other federal civil departments and agencies on all GPS-related matters within the federal government, might finally be moving from study to action. On September 12, at the annual meeting of the Civil GPS Service Interface Committee held in conjunction with ION GNSS+ in Denver, Robert Hampshire, DOT’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology and Chief Science Officer, announced the release of DOT’s Complementary Positioning Navigation and Timing Action Plan. It aims to drive CPNT adoption across the United States transportation system and within other critical infrastructure areas. You can read more here and download the plan here.

Which GPS vulnerabilities does DOT aim to address and how quickly can it “drive adoption” of CPNT? Attempting to answer these questions requires pushing through a dense thicket of bureaucratic jargon. I asked Karen Van Dyke, Director for Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) and Spectrum Management in Hampshire’s office four questions. What follows are excerpts from her answers. You can read her full response here.

What is your office’s charter within the federal government to advance the development and deployment of complementary PNT?

Her office’s efforts, Van Dyke told me, “support federal policy governing PNT programs and activities for national and homeland security, civil, commercial, and scientific purposes. These include Executive Order 13905, Strengthening National Resilience Through Responsible Use of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Services (EO 13905) and Space Policy Directive 7, The United States Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Policy (SPD-7).”

Which GPS vulnerabilities and at what scale is this plan addressing?

The action plan, Van Dyke told me, “addresses disruption, denial, and manipulation of GPS for critical infrastructure sectors” on “both a widespread and local scale.”

How and when will this action plan move the federal government’s posture on CPNT from study to action?

Van Dyke cited field demonstrations conducted in 2020 by the Volpe Center of candidate PNT technologies that could offer complementary service in the event of GPS disruptions and a 2021 report to Congress that distilled the PNT resiliency recommendations. DOT, she said, should develop “system requirements for PNT functions that support safety-critical services” and “standards, test procedures, and monitoring capabilities to ensure that PNT services, and the equipage that utilize them, meet the necessary levels of safety and resilience”.

How does DOT intend to engage PNT stakeholders?

Van Dyke pointed to a PNT Industry roundtable that DOT held in August 2022 that included representatives from CPNT technology vendors and critical infrastructure sectors and “informed the development” of the action plan. She also pointed out that on September 11, DOT issued a request for information “as one of the steps to drive adoption” of CPNT services “to augment GPS for the nation’s transportation system, and through the executive branch interagency process, for other critical infrastructure sectors.”

Stay tuned.

Matteo Luccio | Editor-in-Chief

[email protected]

November 7, 2023
Exclusive interview with US DOT
In September, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released the Complementary PNT Action Plan: DOT Actions to Drive CPNT Adoption. On October 16, Matteo Luccio asked a few questions about the plan to Karen Van Dyke, Director for Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) and Spectrum Management in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R). Below are Luccio’s questions and Van Dyke’s responses.

What is your office’s charter within the federal government to advance the development and deployment of complementary PNT?

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is the lead for civil PNT requirements in the United States and represents the Federal civil departments and agencies in the development, acquisition, management, and operations of GPS. The DOT Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) and Spectrum Management program (within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology) coordinates the development of Departmental positions on PNT and spectrum policy to ensure safety, mobility, and efficiency of the transportation network. The Department also provides civil PNT system policy analysis and coordination representing Federal civil agencies responsible for critical infrastructure in the requirements development, acquisition, management, and operations of GPS.

These efforts support Federal policy governing PNT programs and activities for national and homeland security, civil, commercial, and scientific purposes. These include Executive Order 13905, Strengthening National Resilience Through Responsible Use of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Services (EO 13905), and Space Policy Directive 7, The United States Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Policy (SPD-7).

Which GPS vulnerabilities and at what scale is this plan addressing?

The DOT Complementary PNT Action Plan addresses disruption, denial, and manipulation of GPS for critical infrastructure sectors. These vulnerabilities of GPS include unintentional and intentional jamming and spoofing (both measurement and data spoofing) of the GPS signal and physically impeded environments in which the availability of the GPS signal is impacted (e.g., indoors, underground, and urban canyons). This plan is intended to address vulnerabilities/limitations of GPS on both a widespread and local scale.

How and when will this action plan move the federal government’s posture on CPNT from study to action?

In 2020, the DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) conducted field demonstrations of candidate PNT technologies that could offer complementary service in the event of GPS disruptions. The purpose of the demonstrations was to gather information on PNT technologies at a high technology readiness level (TRL) that can work in the absence of GPS.

While this demonstration was a snapshot in time, there were two central recommendations from the demonstration:
1. U.S. DOT should develop system requirements for PNT functions that support safety critical services.
2. U.S. DOT should develop standards, test procedures, and monitoring capabilities to ensure that PNT services, and the equipage that utilize them, meet the necessary levels of safety and resilience identified in Recommendation 1.
The culmination of the demonstration program was the 2021 Report to Congress, Complementary PNT and GPS Backup Technologies Demonstration Report (2021 Demonstration Report). The PNT resiliency recommendations distilled in the 2021 Demonstration Report were vetted through a Federal interagency review process. During the same period, SPD-7 (directed to U.S. Federal Space-Based PNT service providers) and EO 13905 (directed to PNT users) were issued in a coordinated effort to strengthen U.S. PNT policy.

As part of its ongoing responsibilities as civil PNT lead, the Department has developed a Complementary PNT Action Plan to drive CPNT adoption across the Nation’s transportation system and within other critical infrastructure sectors. The plan describes actions that the DOT plans to pursue over the next several years, including engaging PNT stakeholders; monitoring and supporting the development of CPNT specifications and standards; establishing resources and procedures for CPNT testing and evaluation; and creating a Federal PNT Services Clearinghouse. Taken together with efforts of other Federal partners, these initiatives will continue to strengthen the resilience of the Nation’s PNT-dependent systems, resulting in safer, more secure critical infrastructure.

It should be noted that the U.S. Government is not procuring CPNT systems for non-Federal stakeholders, and as always, all activities are subject to the availability of appropriations.

How does DOT intend to engage PNT stakeholders?

DOT held a PNT Industry roundtable on August 4, 2022 that included representatives from Complementary PNT Technology vendors and critical infrastructure sectors. https://www.transportation.gov/pntindustryround

Feedback from this DOT industry roundtable informed the development of the DOT Complementary PNT Action Plan.

On September 11, 2023, DOT issued a Request for Information (RFI) as one of the steps to drive adoption of Complementary PNT services to augment GPS for the Nation’s transportation system, and through the Executive Branch Interagency Process, for other critical infrastructure sectors. U.S. DOT is planning a resiliency test, evaluation, and performance monitoring strategy for PNT-dependent transportation systems. Taken together with efforts of other Federal partners, these initiatives will strengthen resilience of the Nation’s PNT-dependent systems through the U.S. Government’s purchasing power as a demanding customer of Complementary PNT (CPNT) services, along with critical infrastructure owners and operators, resulting in safer, more secure critical infrastructure for the nation.

The DOT Volpe Center issued this RFI seeking information from industry about availability and interest in carrying out a small-scale deployment of very high technical readiness level (Technology Readiness Level (TRL)≥8) CPNT technologies at a field test range to characterize the capabilities and limitations of such technologies to provide PNT information that meet critical infrastructure needs when GPS service is not available and/or degraded due environmental, unintentional, and/or intentional disruptions. This deployment is intended to test these technologies against CI relevant requirements in order to gain confidence in performance and foster user adoption.

It is likely that DOT will hold future industry roundtables with Complementary PNT technology vendors and critical infrastructure sector owners and operators.
November 3, 2023
UK government PNT plan focuses on policy, timing center, eLoran, defense time and SBAS
Image: RistoArnaudov/E+/Getty Images

The United Kingdom’s Minister for Science, Research, Innovation announced in Parliament today a 10 point “policy framework” for advancing positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT).

The announcement addressed improvements to both PNT technology and policy.

Six technology efforts were listed:
- “National Timing Centre: develop a proposal for a National Timing Centre (NTC) to provide resilient, terrestrial, sovereign, and high-quality timing for the UK (UTC(NPL)), including sovereign components and optical clocks.” This project has been underway for some time and is being executed by the UK’s National Physical Laboratory. The announcement said another £14 million had been identified and was being allocated to the project.
- “MOD Time: develop a proposal for ‘MOD Time’ creating deeper resilience through a system of last resort and use NTC provided timing to support MOD.”
- “eLORAN: develop a proposal for a resilient, terrestrial, and sovereign Enhanced Long-Range Navigation (eLORAN) system to provide backup position and navigation.” In May, the UK’s spectrum office, Ofcom, sought interest from industry in obtaining eLoran broadcast licenses. The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a similar request for information this month.
- “UK SBAS: develop a proposal for a UK Precise Point Positioning Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS-PPP) to replace the UK’s use of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), monitor GNSS and enable GNSS-dependent high accuracy position for autonomous and precision uses.” Since Brexit, the UK has not been a part of the EU’s Galileo enterprise. This SBAS decision comes after the UK government researched and rejected the idea of establishing its own GNSS.
- “Next Generation PNT: deploy existing R&D funding into a UK Quantum Navigator and investigate possible options for a UK sovereign regional satellite system.” Britain has made development of quantum capabilities, including PNT, a particular national focus.
- “Infrastructure Resilience: rollout resilient GNSS receiver chips, develop holdover clocks, and consider options for legislation on CNI sectors to require minimum resilient PNT.” The U.S. Executive Order 13905 points in a similar direction as this idea for legislation, which is a good segway to the announcement’s policy provisions.
Four organizational and policy initiatives included in today’s statement in Parliament:
- “National PNT Office: establish a National PNT Office in the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology to improve resilience and drive growth with responsibility for PNT policy, coordination, and delivery.” Last year the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation reported a cross-government office had been established by the UK that included representation from the Ministry of Defence. That office was within the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Since then, BEIS has been split into two departments, one of which is Science, Innovation, and Technology.
- “PNT Crisis Plan: retain and update a cross-government PNT crisis plan to be activated if GNSS-provided PNT is lost and identify and implement short term mitigations.” Similar plans exist in the United States. The absence of an interference detection and monitoring system, though, has helped stymie U.S. government efforts to respond quickly and effectively.
- “PNT Skills: explore options for centers for doctoral training in timing and PNT and review PNT skills, education, and training for longterm sovereign PNT capability.” A similar need has been identified by the U.S. President’s National Space-based PNT Advisory Board.
- “Growth Policy: develop a PNT growth policy, including R&D programs, standards and testing, to drive innovation for PNT based productivity.” The U.S. PNT R&D Plan is a similar effort.
Also mentioned in the statement to parliament are two new PNT documents published today by the UK Space Agency. The first is a summary of technical concepts developed under the Space Based PNT Programme. The second is an updated report on the economic impact to the UK of a disruption to GNSS.

Both documents should be available in the House of Commons Library shortly.
October 18, 2023
ION GNSS+ 2023: Day two recap

ION GNSS+ 2023 is underway at the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center. On the second day, industry leaders and show attendees gathered for the 63rd meeting of the Civil GPS Service Interface Committee. During a break, a cake was wheeled out to celebrate 50 years of GPS. GPS World staff wanted to highlight some key parts of the event.

(From left to right) Rick Hamilton, GPS Info Analysis Team Lead, U.S. Coast Guard; Harold “Stormy” Martin, Director, National Coordination Office for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing; Dr. Bradford Parkinson, Edward Wells Professor, Emeritus, Aeronautics and Astronautics (Recalled), Co-Director, Center for Position, Navigation and Time, Stanford University; Capt. Scott Calhoun, Commanding Officer, U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center (NAVCEN) and Karen Van Dyke Director, PNT and Spectrum Management, U.S. Department of Transportation, gathered around a cake to celebrate the 50th anniversary of GPS.

Image: Matteo Luccio

Image: Matteo Luccio

A closer look at the 50 years of GPS cake. Learn more about the history of GPS here.

Image: Matteo Luccio

Lt. Colonel Robert Wray, Commander, Second Space Operations Squadron, U.S. Space Force (second from left), who was featured on the May cover of GPS World. Click here to read our May cover story, featuring an exclusive interview with Lt. Colonel Wray about the training and duties of his team, the challenges they face, and more.

Image: Matteo Luccio

Dr. Bradford Parkinson (left) and Dr. Robert Hampshire, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Research and Technology and Chief Science Officer, U.S. Department of Transportation (right). Click here to learn more about Dr. Bradford Parkinson, who is nicknamed “The father of GPS.”

Image: Matteo Luccio

Col. Andy Menshner, GPS Space and Ground (SML), Space Systems Command, U.S. Space Force, speaking about GPS acquisitions and development updates during the Civil GPS Service Interface Committee.

Image: Matteo Luccio

(Second from left) Karen Van Dyke, Director, PNT and Spectrum Manager, U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Chair, serves as chair of the 63rd Civil GPS Service Interface Committee. Read more from the Department of Transportation here.

Image: Matteo Luccio

Attendees gathered to hear speakers from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Space Force, and other departments and agencies.

Click here to stay up to date with our show coverage!

September 14, 2023
DOT releases Complementary PNT Action Plan
Image: DOT

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has unveiled its Complementary Positioning Navigation and Timing (CPNT) Action Plan, which contains steps the department is taking to drive CPNT adoption across the United States transportation system and within other critical infrastructure areas. This plan was mentioned by Robert Hampshire — Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology and Chief Science Officer, U.S. DOT — during his keynote address at the annual Civil GPS Service Interface Committee (CGSIC) meeting on September 12, at ION GNSS+, which GPS World’s Editor-in-Chief, Matteo Luccio, is attending.

In 2020, the U.S. DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center conducted field demonstrations of various PNT technologies that could offer complementary service if GPS is disrupted. The department was able to gather information on PNT technologies at a high technology readiness level that can work in the absence of GPS.

The U.S. DOT have selected 11 candidate technologies to demonstrate positioning or timing functions:
- Two vendors demonstrated low-Earth orbit satellite PNT technologies — one L-band and one S-band;
- two vendors demonstrated fiber-optic timing systems, both based on the White Rabbit Precision Time Protocol;
- one vendor demonstrated localized database map matching database, inertial measurement unit, and ultra-wideband technologies; and,
- six vendors demonstrated terrestrial radio frequency PNT technologies across low frequency, medium frequency, ultra-high frequency, and Wi-Fi/802.11 spectrum bands.
Five of the selected technologies were demonstrated at Joint Base Cape Cod in Massachusetts, and six were demonstrated at NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia. The demonstrations were scenario-based implementations modeled on critical infrastructure use cases under different operating conditions.

Two central recommendations from the demonstration were made: the U.S. DOT should develop system requirements for PNT functions that support safety-critical services; and the U.S. DOT should develop standards, test procedures, and monitoring capabilities to ensure that PNT services, and the equipage that utilize them, meet the necessary levels of safety and resilience identified in recommendation one.

For the full U.S. CPNT Action Plan, click here.

Request for information

The U.S. DOT has also released a request for information (RFI) as one of the steps in driving adoption of complementary PNT services to augment GPS. The department is planning a resiliency test, evaluation, and performance monitoring strategy for PNT-dependent transportation systems.

If any readers are interested in participating, click here for more information.
September 13, 2023
Defending America and saving lives with NITRO

Image: Just_Super/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

In May the President’s PNT Advisory Board heard a presentation about a National Guard project called NITRO. RNT Foundation President, Dana Goward, recently spoke with the project’s leader, Maj. Gen. Richard R. Neely, Adjutant General, Illinois National Guard, to find out more.

Mr. Goward: Thanks for speaking with us, General. Could you start by telling us what NITRO is and why it’s important?

Maj. Gen. Neely: Of course. NITRO is a project to ensure that the National Guard and our state’s first-responder partners can maintain communications and other critical functions even if we lose GPS timing signals.

NITRO is an acronym for Nationwide Integration of Timing Resiliency for Operations. ]You know how we in the military love our acronyms.

Telecoms and most of the rest of America’s critical infrastructure are dependent on timing from GPS. However, GPS signals are weak, highly vulnerable and under threat.

In addition to bad actors who can and do jam and spoof signals, accidental interference happens all the time. Operations at the Dallas and Denver airports were each interrupted by accident for more than a day last year, for example. A couple of years ago, a passenger airliner almost hit a mountain because of interference with GPS.

Q: It sounds like this is a safety of life issue.

A: It is. Right now, if we lost GPS signals and had to respond to a domestic attack, natural disaster, or other contingency, I am confident there would be additional unnecessary casualties. We are building NITRO so that we can save those lives and keep America safe.

Q: So how does NITRO work?

A: In addition to GPS, it gets multiple sources of space-based and terrestrial time from government and commercial providers. NITRO can use any trusted source. It is not provider- or vendor-specific.

Inputs are combined and compared, matched to the nation’s atomic clocks keeping Coordinated Universal Time, and users are sent the best accurate time multiple ways including over fiber, terrestrial broadcast, and resilient wireless networks.

Another great way in which I think it will be useful: NITRO gives us a common operating picture that can help detect and terminate GPS disruptions and anomalies around the country.

Q: Is the National Guard the only user?

A: Absolutely not! This is a state/federal partnership. The states’ Adjutant Generals are working with their Homeland Security Advisors to make it available to state, local, and tribal first responders. In some instances, also to critical infrastructure.

Even though we are in the early stages of implementation, NITRO is being used by seven states and 256 organizations and it is protecting more than 33 million people, including citizens here in Illinois.

Q: Is NITRO a tasking from the President or Congress? Who told you to do this?

A: NITRO helps execute long standing presidential policy and orders, as well as the recently released National Cybersecurity Implementation Plan. It also meets congressional mandates for backups and alternatives to GPS timing.

However, we created NITRO because we identified a serious threat to the National Guard’s mission execution. It closes 11 operational gaps for us, all without changes to end-user equipment.

Q: With what groups are the NITRO team working?

A: All the states are involved through their adjutant generals, homeland security advisors, and emergency managers. The NITRO board I chair is made up of the adjutant generals from six states.

We are also coordinating across the federal government, especially with the Departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Commerce, and Energy.

As part of this we are partnering with the Department of Transportation to establish a NITRO engineering and operational site at Joint Base Cape Cod. This will allow engineers from different organizations to see more easily what we are doing and contribute their expertise.

Q: NITRO is going to provide timing signals in places and at times when GPS is not available. Won’t the National Guard also need navigation information?

A: Positioning and navigation are very important, but not quite as critical as timing. So, we are addressing that problem first. And since wireless location and navigation are often based on timing signals, NITRO will provide a good foundation for services and systems that can augment GPS-based navigation.

Q: So, how is the project going?

A: From a technical and operational standpoint, it’s going great. We have very high satisfaction ratings from NITRO users, and states are eager to be connected as soon as possible.

The technologies used are all mature, reasonably low cost, and most components are commercially available. So, engineering-wise it is low risk.

And our team is doing a great job helping folks move from full dependency on GPS to resilient positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) operations.

Q: Do you have any concerns going forward to full deployment?

A: The only thing I worry about is continued funding. Over the next five years we need something less than the cost of one GPS satellite. You would think that would be easy to find for an important effort like this, but it is a state/federal partnership, not a Department of Defense project. So, it falls into a kind of bureaucratic and budgetary no man’s land.

Q: What’s the solution for funding?

A: That’s not our call. The folks at the White House are exploring several alternatives, and I know several members of Congress are also concerned. We see a possibility of this fitting nicely with the recent infrastructure funding bill.

Q: It sounds like NITRO is something America really needs. Let’s hope they find a solution to the funding challenge, and quickly, to keep you on track. Thank you very much for your time!

A: My pleasure!

August 9, 2023
FAA issues implementation plan outlining steps to enable AAM
Image: MARHARYTA MARKO/iStock/Getty Images Plus/ Getty Images

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released an implementation plan outlining the steps it and others will need to take to enable advanced air mobility (AAM) operations safely. The plan, called Innovate28, includes various components and a timeline for their implementation to hopefully be completed by 2028.

This plan serves as a foundation for making entry into service routine and predictable by maximizing the use of existing procedures and infrastructure. It addresses how the agency and partners will certify aircraft and pilots, manage airspace access, ensure pilot training, develop infrastructure, maintain security and engage communities.

The plan also includes a planning guide that can be applied to any site, laying out key integration objectives and sequences.

Among the entities that play a role in this plan include: the FAA; the advanced air mobility industry; labor partners, NASA; United States Department of Homeland Security; United States Department of Energy; power industry; and state, local and tribal communities.

The FAA also is collaborating with stakeholders, including through the United States Department of Transportation’s Advanced Air Mobility Interagency Working Group.

The plan’s highlights include:

Operations
- Pilots will be able to fly the new advanced mobility aircraft to and from multiple locations at the sites, using predetermined flight schedules with pilots aboard.
- Advanced air mobility aircraft likely will operate up to 4,000 feet altitude in urban and metropolitan areas, using existing or modified low altitude visual flight rules (VFR) routes where possible within controlled Class B and C airspace around major airports.
Infrastructure
- Operators, manufacturers, state and local governments, and other stakeholders will be responsible for planning, developing and enabling heliport/vertiport infrastructure.
- Advanced air mobility will initially operate at existing heliports, commercial service airports and general aviation airports. Modifications may be necessary to install charging stations, parking zones and taxiing space.
Power Grid
- The electrical power grid may require upgrades to serve advanced air mobility operations.
- The FAA has an interagency agreement with the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab to determine how aircraft electrification affects a vertiport, heliport or airport’s electrical grid.
Security
- The Department of Homeland Security will determine what type of security is necessary.
- The Transportation Security Administration and FAA are evaluating the need for expanded cybersecurity requirements due to the use of advanced technology and operational protocols.
Environment
- The FAA will consider the environmental impacts of advanced air mobility operations, including factors such as noise, air quality, visual disturbances and disruption to wildlife.
Community Engagement
- The FAA will engage with airports, and local, state, and tribal communities to better understand community concerns about advanced air mobility operations, including noise and mitigations.
- Many other stakeholders, such as advanced air mobility operators and airport and vertiport operators will have important roles in community engagement.
The FAA’s full Innovate28 plan can be found here.
July 24, 2023