GPS Replacement Review: Only 1 Out of 11 Worked | dot

The Global Positioning System (GPS) of the United States, maintained by the Department of Defense, provides essential services to everyone concerning positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT). While positioning and navigation are readily apparent when using map applications, timing is also a crucial GPS function—delivering precise time synchronization for the accurate operation of our smartphones and other devices.

With the increasing dependence of the economy on these systems, they are becoming a more frequent target for malicious actors through techniques like GPS spoofing. The government is seeking to establish greater redundancy and robustness within this sector, and has been investigating the use of commercial solutions to supplement or serve as a backup to the GPS system.

The Department of Transportation, acting under a requirement included in the defense authorization bill for fiscal year 2018, conducted a thorough assessment of commercial alternatives to the government-owned and operated GPS, evaluating their potential as a backup for our current infrastructure.

The study considered eleven companies, including several well-known positioning startups. These included Satelles, which secured $26 million in funding in 2019; NextNav, which has raised approximately $300 million in total, including $120 million from Fortress in the past year; and Hellen Systems, which, according to Crunchbase, completed a seed funding round last year.

The complete report from the DOT is available, totaling 457 pages and detailing all 14 factors the researchers used to assess the various PNT platforms.

However, the key finding is that several companies offer viable backup capabilities for GPS, though performance and cost differ considerably. NextNav was identified as the leading contender by the researchers, who noted that “All [Technology Readiness Level]-qualified vendors exhibited at least some PNT performance of value, but only one vendor, NextNav, demonstrated performance in all relevant use case scenarios.”

Furthermore, the DOT researchers determined that “… no single system can comprehensively replicate the positioning and navigation capabilities provided by GPS and its enhancements.” Considering the diverse applications of GPS, they recommended employing “a broad range of positioning and navigation technologies” to enhance the resilience of this critical infrastructure.

Determining costs remains a complex undertaking. Due to the differing operational methods of these positioning systems, the fixed and variable costs for each are heavily influenced by the required coverage area and the density of necessary transmitters. The researchers were unable to reach a definitive conclusion regarding the cost-effectiveness of the various systems, although they do provide some preliminary data for initial evaluation.

Recognizing the importance of GPS and the need for dependable alternatives for both companies and the government, venture capitalists have invested significantly in the PNT sector in recent years. We now have concrete data indicating which vendors are demonstrating progress in terms of functionality and usefulness.