WASHINGTON – Today, the GPS Innovation Alliance (GPSIA) announced the addition of four national organizations representing a variety of sectors: The American Council of the Blind (ACB), the U.S. Geospatial Executives Organization (U.S. GEO), NENA: The 9-1-1 Association, and the Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) Association.
These organizations join GPSIA’s ‘affiliates’ program by supporting the Alliance’s goal of protecting, promoting and further enhancing Global Positioning System (GPS)—one of the world’s most important enabling technologies.
“We are excited to welcome the American Council of the Blind (ACB), the U.S. Geospatial Executives Organization (U.S. GEO), NENA: The 9-1-1 Association and the Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) Association as affiliates of our dynamic and diverse team at the GPS Innovation Alliance,” said GPS Innovation Alliance Executive Director J. David Grossman. “The Alliance has grown in both size and ambition since its inception over six years ago and with increased adoption of GPS-enabled technologies, our dependence on GPS will only continue to grow. Building on the launch of the bipartisan and bicameral GPS Caucus this past March, we look forward to working with these new affiliates in bringing heightened awareness to the critical importance of GPS to our nation’s economy.”
The following are comments from representatives of the newly announced affiliates:
Clark Rachfal, Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs, American Council of the Blind (ACB)
“Precise GPS technology is enabling a world where people who are blind may navigate their surroundings with greater confidence and live more independently. The American Council of the Blind is pleased to partner with the GPS Innovation Alliance to ensure this vital technology is available and accessible to all people who are blind in order to increase their economic opportunity and quality of life.”
John M. Palatiello, Founder and President, U.S. Geospatial Executives Organization (U.S. GEO)
“The acquisition, processing, analysis, and application of geospatial data, and its use in geographic information systems (GIS) and other platforms, is greatly dependent on GPS and GNSS. U.S. GEO, representing executives of the nation’s geospatial firms, strongly supports our GPS system and is honored to be part of the GPS Innovation Alliance to assure its continued benefit to the U.S. economy and our quality of life.”
Dan Henry, Director of Government Affairs, NENA: The 9-1-1 Association:
“Locating a 9-1-1 caller used to be as simple as searching a database for the street address associated with the caller’s phone number, but with over 80% of all 9-1-1 calls now coming from mobile phones, tracking down a caller’s location is no longer so easy. When callers are unable to convey their location to 9-1-1, public safety telecommunicators turn to mobile phones’ sophisticated location-finding system; GPS is the foundation of this system. 9-1-1 saves millions of lives every year — many of these lives would not have been saved if not for GPS.”
John Berrettini, President, Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) Association
“The SUE Association is comprised of firms, organizations and individuals engaged in the provision of subsurface utility engineering (SUE) services where the role of GPS/GNSS availability and utilization is vital to field data collection, analysis, and processing. Partnering with the GPS Innovation Alliance helps to meet our organizational charge to promote knowledge, best practices, and the exchange of information in the profession; ensure the protection of public health, welfare and safety; and educate clients and other stakeholders of the value and benefits of subsurface utility engineering services.”
These organizations join GPSIA’s existing affiliates including: the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the Boat Owner’s Association of the United States (BoatUS), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS).
