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To: Dan3 who wrote (71145)	11/12/2007 12:14:22 AM
From: Webster Groves	Respond to of 116555

No one denies only the DOD had the bucks to build the GPS satellite system. My point was that its civilian use was not a dividend of the end of the cold war. Well before the end of the cold war, GPS satellites were designed to have dual use. The civilian version was degraded to 15-m positional accuracy by random phase modulations of the frequency standard, whereas the military capability was always the best at < 1-m resolution. After the guys on the ground figured out how to re-introduce phase stability by using a local site, the military abandoned degradation and we all now have full accuracy. The major civilian use of GPS is the cell phone network where satellite signals are used to maintain tower clock frequency accuracy rather than to determine position. Because the US military still controls GPS availability, some other states don't want to rely on it. Despite DOD pressure the European Union is building the Galileo system, and independently the Russians are reviving their GLOSNASS system. The Chinese of course intend to build their own network. All these nations have the technical capability to do this - it only takes money for launches. You needed to read the back and forth with Elmatador to get the context here. wg PS - GPS was designed and built by US industry. Only the DOD could afford the bill, however, so they get the credit. A lot of technology is developed that way. Who can pay ?