U.S. May Reduce Non-Military GPS Accuracy

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Reuben Halper <reuben () spacelab net>
Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2003 15:51:15 -0500
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: U.S. May Reduce Non-Military GPS Accuracy

I thought you might be interested in this...

-Reuben Halper

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http://www.spacedaily.com/2003/030318154133.7p1uva5u.html

FRANKFURT (AFP) Mar 18, 2003
Drivers whose cars are equipped with a global positioning system (GPS) may
be the first to know when war breaks out against Iraq, a German automobile
club said Tuesday. 

The satellite-based system, funded and controlled by the US Department of
Defense, provides specially coded signals that can be processed to enable
the receiver to compute their position, speed and time.

Its primary function is in navigation for aircraft, ships and vehicles such
as taxis. 

But while there are thousands of civil users of GPS worldwide, the system
was designed for, and is operated by, the US military.

The German automobile club AvD said experts fear that just before military
action against Iraq, which seems likely to start later this week, the
signals will be encoded in order to make them less accurate.

The argument is that by doing so, the enemy -- in this case Iraq -- would
not be able to exploit the system to pinpoint US-led forces sweeping into
the country. 

Currently, the GPS system has an accuracy to within around five metresfeet),
but AvD said it could be reduced to more than 100 metres.

Not a big problem for a ship at sea, perhaps, but bad news for drivers in
crowded cities. 

"German drivers could potentially notice the start of the war quicker than
the chancellor," AvD spokesman Jochen Hoevekenmeier quipped.

He said some two million German cars are equipped with a navigation system,
most of them newer versions which would be unaffected.

However around a third, particularly those fitted with an older or updated
GPS system, could find it has gone haywire.

It urged drivers to take precautions and bring along an old-fashioned map.


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