X-Message-Number: 13680
From: <>
Subject: Implementing the 911 requirement, aka Big Brother
Date: Thu, 04 May 2000 21:51:18 -0400

From:  (glen mccready)

Forwarded-by: Nev Dull <>
Forwarded-by: Peter Langston <>
Forwarded-by: Eric Scheid
Forwarded-by: Gordon Keith

THE NET NEWS
From: Alan Farrelly
May 2, 2000

GPS SCRAMBLING TURNED OFF
President Clinton today ordered that as at 8pm EDT the US military stop
scrambling the Global Position System satellite signals. This means GPS
navigation will improve, from an error  factor of more than 100 metres to
under 20 metres. The White House says the accuracy of GPS will exceed the
resolution of US Geological Survey topographical quad maps. Net News will
never get lost in the wilderness again! See

http://www.whitehouse.gov/library/PressReleases.cgi?date=0&briefing=4

From: the press release:

The improved, non-degraded signal will increase civilian accuracy by an
order of magnitude, and have immediate implications in areas such as:

Enhanced-911: The FCC will soon require that all new cellular phones be
equipped with more accurate location determination technology to improve
responses to emergency 911 calls.  Removing SA will boost the accuracy of
GPS to such a degree that it could become the method of choice for
implementing the 911 requirement.  A GPS-based solution might be simpler
and more economical than alternative techniques such as radio tower
triangulation, leading to lower consumer costs.

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