Defining the Elements of a Civil GPS Monitoring Service

J.W. Lavrakas, J.B. Broomfield

Abstract:	GPS has experienced unheralded success in military and civil applications worldwide. For nearly a decade it has provided accuracy, service availability, continuity of service, and high reliability for the signal in space. The US Government has made national and international commitments for GPS service levels in its Federal Radionavigation Plan and the associated Standard Positioning Service (SPS) Performance Standard. While the system regularly performs far better than these commitments on a day-in, day-out basis, the US Government is unable to demonstrate, in near real time, the level of performance GPS attains. The basic SPS signal is not monitored on a continuous basis, and the precise positioning service (PPS) signals are monitored less than 100% of the time. In addition, the system has failed to provide sufficient integrity monitoring, reporting, and timely corrective response to assuage user concerns that the system routinely meets established standards. This paper explores the current needs of GPS monitoring services required to address the areas of signal quality, situational awareness, and verification that the US Government is meeting its commitments to military and civil users. It discusses the primary elements of a monitoring service, including monitoring station networks, communication links, data processing, fault detection, and user reporting. The paper explores issues associated with developing and operating such a service, including both common and unique objectives between the military and civil communities in implementing such as service. This paper also discusses the current status of GPS monitoring capabilities within the military, aviation, marine, and scientific communities, and describes a few of the initiatives underway to implement such a service.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 2003 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 22 - 24, 2003 Disneyland Paradise Pier Hotel Anaheim, CA
Pages:	683 - 688
Cite this article:	Lavrakas, J.W., Broomfield, J.B., "Defining the Elements of a Civil GPS Monitoring Service," Proceedings of the 2003 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Anaheim, CA, January 2003, pp. 683-688.
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