Civil GPS Service Interface Committee (CGSIC)

Heywood O. Shirer

Abstract:	The Civil GPS Service Interface Committee (CGSIC) was established to identify civil GPS user technical information needs in support of the Civil GPS (CGS) program. To effectively identify information needs that relate to the civil use of GPS, the CGSIC interfaces between civil GPS users, the Civil GPS Program Office, and the GPS operators (Department of Defense). The current CGSIC evolved from DOD preliminary planning for a GPS civil user interface function in 1986. As part of the effort, an oversight committee led by the USAF Joint Program Office, with representatives from government, industry and the user community, was established to provide a GPS Information and Data System for the civil community. This committee became known as the Civil GPS Service Steering Committee and became jointly chaired by DOD and DOT after DOT accepted responsibility for the civil interface in 1987. In 1988 DOT assumed the sole Chairmanship of the CGSSC, but with continued DOD representation on the committee. In early 1991 the Committee's named was changed to the Civil GPS Service Interface Committee (CGSIC) and its charter revised to more accurately reflect its mission of establishing a forum for technical information exchange. The current CGSIC is jointly chaired by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Research and Special Programs Administration and consists of a general committee and five subcommittees that meet about every four months. Until recently the CGSIC consisted of a general committee open to all and an executive committee restricted to government representatives. The executive committee was dropped in an interest to open up the meetings to all interested groups. Membership in the Committee is intended to represent the widest possible coverage of the civil community. About 100 participants from relevant private, government, and industry user groups, both U.S. and international, attend each meeting.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 1991 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation January 22 - 24, 1991 Sheraton San Marcos Hotel Phoenix, AZ
Pages:	183 - 185
Cite this article:	Shirer, Heywood O., "Civil GPS Service Interface Committee (CGSIC)," Proceedings of the 1991 National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, Phoenix, AZ, January 1991, pp. 183-185.
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