Location Privacy Bill Moves to Senate Floor

[SIGNALS Exclusive] Setting the stage for action in the next Congress, a Senate committee approved privacy legislation last Thursday (December 13, 2012) that would, with some exceptions, require companies using geolocation data for apps and navigation services to get express permission from users before collecting or sharing that information. (more)

Civil Galileo System Poses New Options for Secure Services

[SIGNALS Exclusive] Civilian control has always been a crucial differentiator in Europe's GNSS system. Now that principle may give the EU the opportunity to offer a range of security-oriented positioning and timing solutions in place of the all-or-nothing alternatives on encrypted services maintained by defense agencies. (more)

Meet the New European GNSS Agency: Much the Same, Only Different

Under new leadership and with a broadened mandate, the GSA appears likely to handle the bulk of the funds expected to be allocated for Europe's GNSS programs, including the rollout of the Galileo security monitoring system, market development, and near-term responsibility for letting contracts with private agencies. (more)

GPS Coalition to FCC: LightSquared's Requests Must Not Come at Expense of Critical Services

A GPS advocacy group has urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as it considers expansion of terrestrial use of the mobile satellite spectrum (MSS) adjacent to GPS, to recognize that expansion "not come at the expense of critical GPS services." (more)

London Conference Beats Drum for Galileo Acceptance

The third Galileo in-orbit validation (IOV) satellite, also known as Flight Model 3 (FM), began transmitting signals last week, and the FM4 spacecraft, like the FM3 launched on October 12, is expected to come on-line soon - providing the theoretical capability of 3D positioning using solely satellites of Europe's GNSS system. (more)