The New L2C GPS Code: Signal and Positioning Quality Analysis

Mattia De Agostino, Marco Piras, Chiara Porporato

Abstract:	In recent years, the United States has started a modernization programme of GPS satellite constellations where the main aim is improve the positioning service for civilian users. The paper analyses the status of GPS modernization, and in particular the new L2C civil code and the advantages the introduction of this code could provide. For this purpose, an analysis of the six Block IIR-M satellites which currently transmit the L2C code was carried out, together with P2(y) paying particular attention to the quality of the transmitted signal and to the variations of one-way position accuracy. Some analysis of the SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio), on multipaths and on a Differential Code Bias of the new GPS code was carried out, comparing it with the old P2(Y) signal and the current C/A signal on the L1 band. A second analysis was carried out to realize a "one way" positioning (satellite-receiver) using the Kalman filter. The problem was set up in such a way as to estimate the phase ambiguity value on the L1 frequency and also on the L2 frequency, in order to evaluate the eventual improvements that the new L2C code could introduce in terms of time to fix (TTF) and noise of ambiguity.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 21st International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2008) September 16 - 19, 2008 Savannah International Convention Center Savannah, GA
Pages:	1649 - 1657
Cite this article:	De Agostino, Mattia, Piras, Marco, Porporato, Chiara, "The New L2C GPS Code: Signal and Positioning Quality Analysis," Proceedings of the 21st International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2008), Savannah, GA, September 2008, pp. 1649-1657.
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