LEIF LARSON: Satellite-Based GPS Becoming National Security Problem

The United States needs a resilient, terrestrial complement and backup to GPS, with Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) systems, to keep pace with other developed nations that already have these technologies in place, including China and Russia. Our satellite-based GPS systems are increasingly susceptible to jamming and spoofing, a vulnerability that has drawn heightened attention amid recent geopolitical conflicts and the rise of electronic warfare.

It is political malpractice that our nation is behind, because America produces the premier technology used abroad. A nation that has been the incubator for global domination in tech like Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia and Google has not leveraged that innovation to make government more efficient and America safer.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), under the leadership of Chairman Brendan Carr, is advancing rulemaking to establish a spectrum framework that would enable the deployment of a terrestrial GPS system, fulfilling a key Trump priority. A backup to satellite-based GPS will strengthen national security while providing a needed backstop to currently utilized older technology. One company,NextNav, has developed next-generation PNT that brings a widescale, commercially viable solution during this Administration, with no taxpayer funding.

In simple terms, the solution to this national security vulnerability already exists, but deployment requires a regulatory unlock.  A terrestrial backup system would ensure cars, ships and aircraft continue to function if satellite systems fail or are compromised by our adversaries. Also, these systems are used for mapping, disaster relief and the rescue of stranded individuals. Clearly a backup system is overdue, and the Trump Administration is moving quickly to solve the problem.

The FCC has taken the lead and made great strides in this space. It is working hard to advance a spectrum framework that would enable this new technology. What makes this approach particularly noteworthy is the FCC’s reliance on market-driven innovation rather than government-directed central planning. Instead of taxpayer funded infrastructure buildouts, the Commission is enabling a private company to use spectrum licenses it owns to advance a commercially viable solution. The other key is that the tech is powered by low-band licensed spectrum, and there is sufficient band space to allow this tech to be used without interfering with other users of the spectrum, as supported by the engineering studies on record. The technology delivers accurate, reliable and resilient 3D PNT solutions that can be applied to critical infrastructure, commercial use cases and, most importantly, GPS resiliency.