Do you pay attention to where you are driving, or just tune out and do whatever the nav system says? You might want to re-think getting too dependent on the voice in the dashboard, according to a new government report. The network of 24 U.S. government-owned satellites that guide your GPS, it seems, may not last much longer.
Engadget explains, "If the Worst Case Scenario goes down, the nation's GPS system could begin to fail sometime next year. According to a Government Accounting Office report, the Global Positioning System has been so mismanaged that when aging equipment starts to fail, there may be no new satellites to take their place."
The system, according to Autoblog, "Could begin to experience black-outs and general failures next year due to the delays, mismanagement and underinvestment by the U.S. Air force."
PC World explains, "Older satellites start dying next year and replacements are being launched much more slowly than is necessary to maintain service, the report to Congress said." If coverage begins to fail as satellites go off-line, GPS systems will continue to function in some areas. But the failures could "make it more difficult to receive a location fix in areas with a poor view of the sky, such as the downtown "canyons" of major cities. Coverage inside buildings could also suffer."
Autoblog notes, "Not only are we all dependent on a variety of GPS devices - from standard-issue dash-mounted and in-car systems to smartphones - in our daily lives, there's the national security issue." The military is dependent on GPS for some of its most sophisticated operations. "China, India and Russia are working in earnest to get their own systems in place."
The solution, according to the GAO report, is to increase funding and accelerate the launch schedule for replacement satellites. But Autoblog notes, "considering that the first replacement satellite is expected to be launched in November - three years after its initial deployment date - speeding up future launches is going to come at a significantly higher cost, adding additional complications and red-tape into the mix."
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