The United States Global Positioning System Industry Council (USGIC) welcomed Vice President Gore's announcement that two new civilian signals will be provided by the satellite-based US Global Positioning System (GPS).
"The decision to add two new civilian GPS signals demonstrates the U.S.
Government's long-term commitment to promoting GPS as a global standard for
navigation, positioning, and timing in support of both Presidential and
Congressional policy," said Charles R. Trimble, Chairman of the USGIC and
President and CEO of Trimble. "We believe that this decision sets the stage
for continued technical evolution of GPS, and its augmentations, to meet the
dynamic needs of users worldwide."
According to the White House press release announcing the decision, one of
the new signals will be located near the frequency of the current GPS L2
signal. The frequency for the third civil signal remains to be defined over
the next several months.
"Today information technologies arrive at a rapid rate. Sustaining growth
long-term is the real challenge," said Charles Boesenberg, USGIC Director and President and CEO of Magellan, Inc.
"This decision demonstrates that a stable policy-making process exists and is one that can handle future challenges. GPS continues to be a model success story as a result of careful policy decisions such as this announcement by the Vice President today," Boesenberg added.
According to USGIC Director Paul A. Rauschelbach, Vice President of Technology, Space and Aviation Control for Honeywell Inc. "Immediate
beneficiaries will be public safety of the international aviation and
maritime user communities. The real significance is that users worldwide can be confident that GPS will continue to grow and evolve to meet their needs as a global information utility."
USGIC members include GPS satellite manufacturers, military and commercial
receiver manufacturers, GPS user associations, educational institutions and
affiliate member government agencies.
USGIC offices are located at 1100 Connecticut Ave., NW; Suite 520;
Washington, DC 20036; Tel.: 202-862-0135, FAX 202-862-3929
