Why a backup to GNSS is required
Technology experts have warned that critical civil infrastructure - including air traffic communications, electricity transmission, telecoms networks and emergency services fleet management - are all under threat from the increasing availability ofGPS jammers.
The research was presented at a joint RIN/Digital Systems KTN symposium at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington in February 2010. Jamming devices, available illegally for under £100, are able to interfere with the GPS signal that supports many critical services.
"The strength of a GPS signal is about as strong as viewing a 25 Watt light bulb shinnig down from a satellite 10,000 miles away," says Bob Cockshott, a director of the Digital Systems KTN. "It's no surprise then that GPS signals are vulnerable to natural and, increasingly, criminal interruptions."
Professor David Last, a past President of the RIN and now a GPS consultant and expert witness to government and law enforcement agencies added that the potential for serious disruption is a "clear and present danger".
"A portable jammer in a tall building like the gherkin could cover most of London and planes approaching its airports," he explained.
Additing its voice to calls for a back-up to GPS, the RIN stressed the importance of developing a solution for positioning and timing aplications, saying 'Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) currently provide highly accurate navigation and timing information under normal operating conditions. However, they have recognised vulnerabilities which could at times lead to local or regional failures. There is, therefore a fundamental necessity, worldwide, for robust, terrestrial based systems to provide a concurrent, independent source of position and time information to ensure navigational safety and environmental protection ashore, afloat and in the air. Such alternative systems could also bring concomitant benefits by providing the essential time and frequency data which support financial, telecommunications, power distribution and other critical commercial and governmental activities.
Navigation News - 2010