The agency will put out a Request for Proposals by the end of September to choose at least one, and likely several, firms to provide “technical consulting services” to support technology demonstrations. The demos will be held at Joint Base Cape Cod, Massachusetts and are likely to start this coming spring.

The Special Notice posted by DOT August 29 is likely about more than just hiring advisory services, said Dana Goward, the president and director of the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation.

“So the idea,” he said, “is that they have all these different technologies that they want to demonstrate, but they don’t want to buy any of them, right? They just want to see them at work and then measure them. So the way you do that is you don’t go out and buy stuff, you buy the consulting services of the companies that have these technologies—and the companies demonstrate the technologies for you and you get to do all your measurements and your tests.” Otherwise, DOT would have to figure out how to work all these technologies themselves, he said, and they’d have a bunch of equipment left over at the end that they would have to get rid of. “It would be messy. This would be much cleaner I’m sure.”

That said, the agency is also looking for some help in preparing for the demonstrations. The agency released a pre-solicitation announcement September 3 seeking potential suppliers for architect/engineer (A/E) support to help it in getting the Cape Cod site ready.

DOT plans to do demonstrations of commercial technologies with a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of six or higher, that is technology that is mature enough for field demonstrations. The DOT effort is being spearheaded by Diana Furchtgott-Roth, DOT deputy assistant secretary for Research and Technology and supported by the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (the Volpe Center) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It will use a scenario-based plan to assess how different technologies can meet the needs of different users.

The agency will assess technologies in scenarios with static and dynamic platforms, varied services areas and use cases. DOT will be looking at 2-D and 3-D positioning as well as timing and tiered levels of service.

Officials are specifically looking for services and/or capabilities that can provide backup positioning, navigation, and/or timing services to critical infrastructure if GPS were temporarily disrupted. One of the elements DOT is interested in is the security, including cybersecurity, incorporated in the technology.

The agency is also hoping to find technologies that will go beyond just backing up the system to providing complementary functions by either expanding positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) capabilities (including cross checks) or extending them to GPS or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-denied or degraded user environments.

“We don’t necessarily think that there is any one technology that’s going to meet all user requirements and so certainly we have that in mind,” Karen Van Dyke DOT’s director for Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) and Spectrum, told the PNT Advisory Board in June.

The goal set by Furchtgott-Roth is to decide on a way forward by August of 2020, said Van Dyke.

To speed things along DOT said that it plans to use simplified acquisition procedures and plans to make multiple awards. The total estimated value of the contracts will be $700,000 to $2 million. This is out of a total $10 million allocated by the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Unlike other government appropriations the demonstration funding was from a research account so it remains available for three years. Moreover, Goward said, language will soon be proposed in Congress that will extend the deadline for spending the money.

The ultimate plan on actually providing a backup remains to be determined, Van Dyke told the board.

“I think right now we want to conduct the demonstration; we want to get the results in and really look at what the results tell us. So I think it would be very premature to talk about the down-select process and what the government role would be in procuring that capability. In parallel, we’re certainly mindful of the potential for public private partnerships and just also what companies are doing on their own in providing capabilities.”

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The event was organized by the RNT Foundation to recognize the two senators for their sponsorship and support of the National Timing Resilience and Security Act of 2018. The senators serve on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee where they co-sponsored and introduced the bill. Cruz is the Chair of the subcommittee on Aviation and Space. Markey is the ranking member on the Security subcommittee.

The Act, signed into law last December, requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish a terrestrial timing system by 2020 to complement and backup timing signals provided by GPS. It also requires that the new terrestrial system be capable of being expanded to provide a location and navigation service.

The DOT is in the early stages of a GPS Backup Technology Demonstration that was funded by Congress early last year. Department representatives have expressed their desire to transition directly from the demonstration project to deciding upon and implementing the mandated timing system.

During the course of the event at the capitol, Senator Cruz remarked that “In today’s complex economy and life, we rely on GPS for practically everything. From the cell phones we carry in our pockets, to the navigation of ships and planes, to law enforcement and national security. And right now we are dependent on the GPS satellite system.” He said that threats of malicious attack and natural phenomena like solar flares which would disrupt GPS service endangered national and economic security. Senator Markey remarked their efforts were to ensure navigators always had the tools they needed.

The two senators are well known for often being in opposing political camps. Cruz is considered a conservative Republican, and Markey a progressive Democrat. Senator Cruz noted “these divided times” and that it was “…nice to see there are areas we can come together and work on with bipartisan cooperation.”

Markey agreed saying that it was great that “Ted and I, Boston and Houston, Rice and MIT, came together to ensure that, in the same way navigators in the past had the tools they needed for that era, we would make sure… that the 21^stcentury had those [necessary] tools.”

Markey said that in this case “GPS stands for ‘a Good Political System’ ” they put together to pass the legislation.

The RNT Foundation presented the Senators plaques with images of a GPS satellite and a terrestrial transmission tower reflecting the requirements of the Act to complement existing timing signals from space with signals from earth. And because having a backup is important, each was presented one of “America’s first GPS devices” — a 100+ year-old copy of “The American Practical Navigator” by Nathaniel Bowditch.

The RNT Foundation supports a terrestrial system to complement GPS as part of its holistic Protect, Toughen and Augment approach to safeguarding GPS signals and users. Foundation President Dana A. Goward remarked that: “When the terrestrial timing signals are on-air they will be a great asset. They can be combined with GPS signals to make receivers and users much more resilient. And they will also help protect GPS signals by deterring bad actors from disrupting them since users will have a backup.” While the Act only mandates a timing system for now, Goward said, “Timing signals will be very helpful and are a great start. We hope the system will be expanded soon thereafter to also provide location and navigation services.”

Video of the presentations and the senators’ remarks is available here on the RNT Foundation YouTube channel.

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The leading U.S. panel of satellite navigation experts, the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Advisory Board (“PNT Advisory Board”) opened its June meeting with a renewed charter, a new chairman and seven new members.

Established in 2004 the board provides “independent advice to the U.S. government on GPS-related policy, planning, program management, and funding profiles in relation to the current state of national and international satellite navigation services.” It undertakes research and submits recommendations and reports to the National Executive Committee for Space-Based PNT (ExCom)—a joint civil/military policy body comprising eight federal agencies and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The board tackles tasks at the request of the ExCom and addresses issues it identifies itself as needing attention.

The board has a new charter that was just signed in May. That charter only extends to September, however, because the board is expected to be chartered again with a designation as one of the President Donald Trump’s key advisory groups. Special designation within the executive branch gets the board additional attention and focus, explained a source familiar with the process.

“I guess that means we get a promotion,” quipped Admiral (Ret.) Thad W. Allen, the board’s new chairman.

Allen served as commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard from 2006-2010 leading the service through a major modernization program and an effort to explore the changing Arctic as well as a number of significant national and international incidents, including hurricanes, floods, search-and-rescue cases, oil spills and other environmental incidents. He is now an executive vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton.

The immediate past board chairman John Stenbit, who previously served as assistant secretary of defense, will stay on the board as deputy chairman.

The new members bring the board up to its full compliment of 25. Allen noted that this might be the largest contingent of new members the board has ever had. The new members are:

Patrick Diamond, Diamond Consulting

The principal of Diamond Consulting, Patrick Diamond has been at the forefront of the development of timing and synchronization technologies for more than 20 years. He led the development of the first monolithic silicon device for synchronization in SONET/SDH networks. Diamond was the original evangelist for creating a version of IEEE 1588 for use in packet wide area networks and led development of the only fully integrated 1588v2 system on a chip currently deployed in over 2 million base stations. He has worked at NASA, McDonnell Douglas, Data General and Semtech in senior and executive engineering and business development roles.

Frank van Diggelen, Google

Frank van Diggelen is a principal engineer at Google, where he leads the Android Core-Location Team. He is a pioneer in Assisted GNSS, the technique that allows GPS to work in cell phones. He is the inventor of coarse-time GNSS navigation, co-inventor of Long Term Orbits for A-GNSS, and holds more than 90 issued U.S. patents on A-GNSS. He also teaches at Stanford University, where he created an on-line GPS course, offered free through Stanford University and Coursera. In its first release this course attracted over 30,000 registrants from 192 countries. He previously served as a navigation officer in the South African Navy.

Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska, Ohio State University

Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska is a professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering and serves as the associate dean for research in the College of Engineering at Ohio State University (OSU). She is also a director of the Satellite Positioning and Inertial Navigation (SPIN) Laboratory. Her research interests cover GPS/GNSS algorithms, GNSS/inertial and other sensor integration for navigation in GNSS-challenged environments, sensors and algorithms for indoor and personal navigation, image-based navigation using artificial intelligence (AI) methods, and mobile mapping.

Terry Moore, University of Nottingham (UK)

Terry Moore is director of the Nottingham Geospatial Institute at the University of Nottingham where he is the professor of satellite navigation. He has many years of research experience in surveying, positioning and navigation technologies and is a consultant and adviser to European and UK government organizations and industry.

Jeffrey Shane, International Air Transportation Association (IATA)

Jeff Shane is IATA’s general counsel where he is responsible for managing its Legal Services group, the delivery of legal support to IATA’s operational units around the world, and for working with IATA’s member airlines to address legal issues of importance to the industry at large. In addition to his 14 years in private law practice, he served as under secretary of transportation for policy between 2003 and 2008 and was deputy assistant secretary of state for transportation affairs for four years, serving as chief U.S. aviation negotiator. Shane was an early champion of the “NextGen” transformation of the U.S. air traffic control system, the acceleration of GPS modernization, and other technology initiatives to enhance the safety, security, and efficiency of aviation and other modes of transportation.

Gary Thompson, North Carolina Emergency Management/Geodetic Survey

Gary Thompson has worked since 1977 for the North Carolina Geodetic Survey (NCGS), which is responsible for developing and maintaining North Carolina’s official survey base. He put the agency’s modernized technologies, expertise, and quality control to the test while on the research team that conducted Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) aerial mapping research projects with NASA. He incorporated the results of those projects into practice while on the program management team that completed the engineering and surveying project that produced a statewide set of Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs). He also serves as the deputy risk management chief (NC Emergency Management). He is currently leading efforts to utilize Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for North Carolina Emergency Management.

Todd Walter, Stanford University

Todd Walter is a senior research engineer in the department of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University, where he has been a research staff member since 1993. His research focuses on implementing high-integrity air navigation systems. He is one of the principal architects of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) safety processing algorithms, including development of the ionospheric estimation and confidence bounding algorithm, as well as the WAAS integrity monitors. He has performed a similar role on the equivalent systems deployed in Japan and India. He also advises the FAA on alternate means to exploit satellite navigation signals to provide safety-of-life services more efficiently.

The other board members are:

— Bradford Parkinson (1st Vice Chair), Stanford University

— James E. Geringer (2nd Vice Chair), Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI)

— Penina Axelrad, University of Colorado

— John Betz, MITRE

— Gerhard Beutler, International Association of Geodesy (Switzerland)

— Scott Burgett, Garmin International

— Joseph D. Burns, Airo Drone

— Sergio Camacho-Lara, United Nations Regional Education Center of Science and Space Technology – Latin America and Caribbean (Mexico)

— Ann Ciganer, GPS Innovation Alliance

— Dana Goward, Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation

— Ronald R. Hatch, private consultant (retired John Deere)

— Matt Higgins, International GNSS Society (Australia)

— Larry James, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

— Timothy A. Murphy, The Boeing Company

— T. Russell Shields, Ygomi

— Refaat M. Rashad, Arab Institute of Navigation (Egypt)

There are a number of issues the board members are considering working on. The first is the concept of a PNT gold standard and what that means. Also on the table is an analysis of the space volume, that is the use of satellite navigation signals by satellites and other spacecraft, the ramifications of 5G telecommunications and the establishment of an integrated GNSS system that serves the entire globe. There is also a question about whether the older satellites in the current GPS constellation should be replaced sooner rather than later as a way to more quickly add new signals like L5 and improve overall capability.

“Part of it is the launch schedule and the fact that we rightfully take a lot of pride in 25-year-old satellites,” said the board’s Vice Chairman Brad Parkinson. “On the other hand those satellites are occupying a slot. They do not have L5. They do not have L1C. They do not have L2C and in general they’re aged satellites in terms of their capabilities. And the question is what is the right place in the tension between renewal and saving money.”

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Logan’s ideas are more than promising and, if fully implemented, could greatly help in the fight to protect, toughen, and augment GPS that the National PNT Advisory Board and RNT Foundation have long advocated.

Dee Ann’s report, though, reminded me of the real challenge to the U.S. achieving greater national and economic security with more resilient GPS and PNT. It’s not from a lack of available technology. Rather, it is a lack of concern and leadership within the U.S. government.

Logan first proposed Chimera in a 2003 paper. Yet it is only now, 16 years later, that the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) is starting to take a look at it. Even way back in 2003 GPS vulnerabilities to interference were well known. The Transportation Department’s Volpe Center issued a report in 2001 on the topic. As a result, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) gave up its plan to have aviation rely entirely on GPS for navigation and the president mandated a GPS backup. As early as 1997 the James Bond movie, Tomorrow Never Dies, predicted GPS spoofing. Yet unconcerned government leadership has meant inaction.

And while AFRL is now interested in Chimera, it is moving forward with all the speed of government, planning a satellite test in 2022. This represents, according to the article, AFRL taking “… some pains to help Chimera slip into the current GNSS ecosystem as seamlessly and quickly aspossible.” Chimera could be implemented on the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) within two years, according to the article. But is that going to happen?

It’s anyone’s guess. WAAS was developed for domestic aviation by the FAA. The Defense Department has always been loath to provide or fund such capabilities. The article includes a suggestion by a former DOD employee that it might be in DOD’s interests to do so and this would benefit civilians as well. Yet DOD has had chances to do similar things before and actively avoided them.

In three years or 30, if Chimera is implemented, another, even more difficult leadership obstacle will still remain. For it to really benefit the nation and make us more PNT resilient, Chimera will have to be used widely. This will require new, Chimera-enabled receivers. Manufacturing them will not be a problem, but selling them might. The receiver-buying public has not shown a great appetite for features that increase cost. An abundance of hardware and software to provide significant protections against jamming and spoofing is already on the market. Yet manufacturers report most customers are reluctant to spend the extra money for such features.

Businesses typically only spend money on something if doing so will make them even more money, or because they are required to by the government. Ships and airliners don’t carry passenger life vests because it improves their bottom line. It’s because law and regulations say they must.

Yet, with the exception of a very few use cases, the U.S. government does not impose any standards for GPS receivers used in critical applications. And agencies resist suggestions to do otherwise. Why then should businesses purchase and use Chimera-equipped receivers? Maybe we would get lucky and Chimera-enabled receivers will cost no more than other receivers. Then, through attrition, most of the old receivers would be out of the installed based in, what – seven years? Ten? Twenty?

The U.S. government created itself a monopoly on wireless PNT when it built GPS and made it a free service. It hooked the entire first world on wireless precise time and location, and we are now critically dependent. The U.S. government must now live up to its responsibilities and address it with active leadership.

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In early March DeFazio and three other members of Congress sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Chao asking about progress on a GPS Backup Technology Demonstration first mandated by law in December 2017. Citing a lack of apparent progress despite substantial funds having been appropriated, the letter expressed concern and asked for a status report within two weeks.

The department’s reply, dated the 8^thof May, says that DOT has been working with the departments of Defense and Homeland Security “…for several years on GPS backup and complementary PNT efforts…” and that the effort is still on-going. It projects “… a demonstration of technologies towards the end of the calendar year.”

While not stated in the letter, government officials have said they expect to have a wide variety of technologies in the demonstration to include local positioning systems such as those offered by Locata and NextNav, wide area systems like eLoran, and space-based capabilities such as the Satelles service. Space systems may be included in the demo, even though other legislation setting out the requirements for a backup GPS timing system requires it to be terrestrial. This is because the legislation mandating the technology demonstration has no such requirement.

Selection of systems to be demonstrated will be greatly influenced by responses to the department’s Request for Information (RFI) issued on May 3, 2019. The RFI seeks technologies:

“… that are capable of providing backup positioning, navigation, and/or timing services to critical infrastructure (CI) in the event of a temporary disruption to GPS. This demonstration effort also is expected to encompass technologies capable of providing complementary PNT functions to GPS by either expanding PNT capabilities, including cross checks, or extending them to GPS or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-denied or degraded user environments.”

Technologies must be at technology readiness level six or better. This is defined by the department as having at least had a prototype demonstrated in a relevant environment. Responses to the RFI are due by June 3, 2019.

The DOT letter also says, “As a provider and user of U.S. critical infrastructure services, DOT is interested in leveraging PNT service technology initiatives.” Some observers interpret this as a preference for contracting with a company for an eventual timing service, rather than building and operating a government-owned system. This is a model DOT has used before, most notably with the aviation safety ADS-B flight data and tracking system. The FAA is one of several subscribers to the information provided by the ADS-B system which is owned and operated by Harris Corporation.

Two industry roundtable discussions were held prior to the RFI being issued, according to the department. The letter cites these as part of efforts to incorporate input from stakeholders.

Legislation requiring the technology demonstration preceded and is independent of the law requiring the department to establish an operational terrestrial timing system to backup GPS signals. However, the operational timing system must also be expandable to provide positioning and navigation services. Demonstrating systems that provide all these services will be important to informing the selection of the technology for the final operational system.

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The decision reflects a new approach by the agency aimed at improving its understanding of the 55 functions on the new national critical list, DHS said in an explanation. Rather than focusing on a static sector or on assets, “this more holistic approach is better at capturing cross-cutting risks and associated dependencies that may have cascading impact within and across sectors.”

“By viewing risk through a functional lens,” said DHS on its website, “we can ultimately add resilience and harden systems across the critical infrastructure ecosystem in a more targeted, prioritized, and strategic manner.”

This could be a boon for the PNT community. Years ago DHS recognized PNT as a cross dependency among 13 of the 16 critical sectors of the nation’s infrastructure—such as the financial and telecommunications networks. Even so the agency did not appear to give PNT the coordinated analysis and scrutiny given early on to the sectors.

DHS’s focus sharpened, however, as the consequences of a break in GNSS service became more clear. The British found that the UK could lose £1 billion per day (about $1.263 billion) if GNSS experienced a major disruption. Experts agreed that the Cybersecurity Solarium Commission created by Congress late last summer should consider PNT to be a cybersecurity issue.

Then DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen concurred, making PNT one of her top priorities in a push last year to protect U.S. cybersecurity.

“A lot of us think about that when we use a GPS device on our phone, whether it’s Google Maps or Waze, perhaps. But that’s also what allows us to settle our bank accounts. It’s also what allows a hospital to give you microsurgery. It allows air traffic control to flow,” Nielsen told the Security Innovation Network (SINET) conference in November according to Cyberscoop.

Despite the priority the agency appears to now be putting on protecting satellite navigation, it seems like DHS is starting over on work that has been quietly underway for a number of years.

“I’m sure they’re not going to throw away any of the work that they’ve done,” said Dana Goward, president and executive director of the Resilient Navigation & Timing Foundation, “but they do have a new organization and as you can tell from their publication they have a process. And so they’re starting at the beginning of the process and being thorough.”

The next step, according to DHS, is to build a tiered risk register where priority is given to risk areas where mitigation and collective action is needed. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is managing the process, will be asking representatives from across government and industry “what keeps them up at night.”

More specifically they want to know about:

• Scenarios that could plausibly cause national-level degradation of NCFs.
• The likelihood and consequence of each scenario—leveraging existing sources, such as sector risk assessments, where possible.
• How disruptions to one NCF could cascade and impact other NCFs.
• The status of risk management efforts and the degree to which stakeholders are ready to further engage in communitywide efforts to mitigate risks.

CISA will periodically update and share what they learn with the critical infrastructure community, including government agencies and sector coordinating councils.

As for new regulations, DHS has long had a very light touch, Goward noted. Agency officials have stressed in the past that most infrastructure is privately held and they believe voluntary best practices for protecting assets, if developed collaboratively, would be more widely adopted.

“So with PNT and everything else” said Goward, “I don’t think we should expect to see any kind of real strong direction or regulation—more than what we’ve already seen.”

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Among the many topics discussed at the event were the extensive benefits of GPS to the nation’s economy, the need to protect the spectrum used by GPS and other GNSS, and the need for backup systems.

Representative Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) kicked off the event citing the many benefits of precision agriculture made possible by GPS. These include reduced costs for fertilizer, seed, and fuel, while allowing much better use of irregular plots of land.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) also spoke briefly citing her experiences as an Army helicopter pilot before and after the introduction of GPS. “GPS changed everything and made us much more effective,” she said. “The last thing I did after my helicopter was shot down in Iraq was push the button to send our GPS position to higher headquarters so they would know where the hostile action was.”

Related Reading: Lawmakers Launch New GPS Caucus

Air Force Colonel Curtis Hernandez, Director National Security Space Policy for the National Space Council, also spoke and mentioned the system’s economic impact. Estimating it to be about $3 trillion a year, he conceded that even such a large number might be too low. Quoting Greg Milner, the author of “Pinpoint – How GPS is changing technology culture, and our minds,” Hernandez asked “What’s the value of oxygen?”

Col. Hernandez also said that GPS is a critical component of our national infrastructure and backup capabilities are needed.

A panel discussion with representatives from John Deere, Trimble, and Garmin rounded out the hour-long event. Each panelist addressed the importance of GPS to the nation and referred to the need for undisturbed spectrum. Follow-on questions from the audience included one on the need for GPS alternatives in the event of outages, which the panel agreed with, and one about equitable spectrum allocation. As to this later question, a panelist offered that the GPS Innovation Alliance supported a “zoning approach” that kept space-based signals separate from terrestrial signals.

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Summarizing the results of an April workshop sponsored by ATIS and the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation, the letter was sent to officials at the Departments of Transportation, Defense, Commerce, and Homeland Security. It was also sent to leaders at the National Security Council, National Space Council, and the Office of Management and Budget.

Among the recommendations from the workshop were:

• Establishing an Assured Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) program for civilian infrastructure. The workshop had a briefing on the Department of Defense Assured PNT program but noted that most GPS users would not benefit from its results.
• Monitoring for GPS/GNSS disruptions and impact. The group noted Europe’s STRIKE3 program and stated that a similar effort could have benefit in the United States.
• Publishing GPS disruption reports and the government’s analysis. Reports are received by several federal agencies, but they are not readily available to the public.
• Taking enforcement action against spectrum violations. The letter noted that detection and location equipment is relatively inexpensive and easy to use.

The letter also indicated that the ATIS Synchronization committee (SYNC) is undertaking a study of GPS/GNSS receiver resilience and promised more information would be forthcoming.

This is not the first time ATIS has engaged government officials on timing issues. In 2006 the group wrote to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) about the importance of Loran-C timing to the industry. In 2014 it engaged the Department of Homeland Security about network timing requirements, and in 2015 it commented on a Department of Transportation docket attesting to the ability of eLoran to meet these needs. ATIS generated a comprehensive report on GPS vulnerability in 2017 and subsequently wrote to several senators applauding their plans for legislation to require implementation of an eLoran system.

“These recommendations represent the views of government, industry and GPS/GNSS users,” said ATIS President and CEO Susan Miller, in an ATIS press release. “Setting them into action will speed development of solutions to mitigate the risks to the systems that are the critical backbone for precision timing for so many industries.”

Dana Goward is president of the Resilient Navigation & Timing Foundation
and a regular contributor to Inside GNSS.

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In his introductory remarks, Rob Crane, the DHS representative to the National Coordination Office, said that, “It’s the department’s job to safeguard GPS signals.” As part of that, DHS was developing performance standards for satnav receivers used in critical infrastructure. He said that the department will be using its Collaboration Zone to interact with the public and seek industry involvement.

Jim Platt, the lead for the DHS PNT Program Management Office, said the department has already engaged with some equipment manufacturers. Also, that the standards being developed would be voluntary. When asked how others, including the standards bodies SAE and ATIS might become involved in the process, he said that the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) was leading the effort on behalf of DHS. The next opportunity for the public to engage will be at a NIST workshop held in conjunction with the Institute of Navigation’s International Technical Meeting on the 28^thof January.

GPS as a Cyber Vector

Retired Admiral Thad Allen observed that GPS disruption was a cyber security problem. GPS receivers are “everywhere and each provides a surface for cyberattack,” he said. “The real issue is how to assure PNT” with more than just space assets.

Competent Receivers

Dr. John Betz from MITRE discussed the variety of things that users can do now to protect themselves. He recommended attendees access “Improving the Operation and Development of Global Positioning System (GPS) Equipment Used by Critical Infrastructure” which is available on line at www.GPS.gov.

What if there is no GPS? How long can you be down?

Katheryn Condello from the telecommunications provider Century Link said that the communications industry is generally aware of GPS vulnerability and is especially concerned about timing. But she wasn’t sure if that awareness and concern was sufficient across the population as a whole.

She also said that spoofing and jamming incidents were in many ways nuisances that had to be dealt with, like a lot of other cyber issues. The real question for both government and industry, in her mind, is “What if there is no GPS? What do we do then?” She said that, as with any service, customers need to ask themselves: “How long can I be down?”

This panel discussion of PNT issues was part of the National Critical Functions Workshop sponsored by DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The workshop took place Dec. 11 and 12, Tuesday and Wednesday, in Crystal City, just outside of Washington, D.C.

Dana Goward is president of the Resilient Navigation & Timing Foundation
and a regular contributor to Inside GNSS.

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The theme of the conference was “Science, Technology and Practice to Resilient Navigation.”

While a number of presenters discussed technical aspects of GNSS navigation, the event was notable for its inclusion of many papers dealing with how GNSS information can best be used to optimize operations. Issues such as the impact of weather on optimal ship trajectories and long-distance flights, integration with ship’s ECDIS and AIS systems received considerable attention.

GNSS-independent navigation also received its fair share of attention. Modern positioning using radar, underwater electromagnetic localization, and eLoran were among the systems discussed over the course of the three-day conference.

Related Reading: How can we ensure GNSS receivers are robust to real-world interference threats? 

A plenary panel on the second day addressed several broad resilient navigation issues. The first three speakers addressed GNSS disruptions detected by Europe’s STRIKE3 project, the history of GNSS spoofing, and examples of impacts from GNSS disruption on commercial aviation. With that background the rest of the presenters addressed available technologies to make GNSS receivers much more resilient to GNSS jamming and spoofing, South Korea’s developing eLoran system, and the efforts of the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) to encourage resilient navigation technologies and policies.

IAIN also presented a number of awards for outstanding achievement. These included the John Harrison Award for outstanding contribution to navigation by an individual to Dr. Dorota A. Grejner-Brzezinska of Ohio State University, and the Necho Award for long term contribution to the field of navigation to Prof. Bernhard Hofmann-Wellenhof of the Austrian Institute of Navigation. Assistant Professor Taro Suzuki of Waseda University received IAIN’s Sedak Award for presentation of his paper “Evaluation of Precise Point Positioning of Small UAVs using L6E Signal via QZSS.”

Dana Goward is president of the Resilient Navigation & Timing Foundation
and a regular contributor to Inside GNSS.

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