The International Activities of the Civil GPS Service Interface Committee

Abstract

The paper opens with a brief description of the formation and roles of the Civil GPS Service Interface Committee (CGSIC) and its various Sub-Committees, defining clearly the concept of civil GPS status and health information, and the information services which are necessary. The paper then concentrates on international implications, referring to the activities of the CGSIC's international Sub-Committee, the International Information Sub-Committee (IISC). The concepts of national points-of-contact and national information centres are introduced together with a description of their perceived functions, and this is followed by discussion of the products which they are expected to make available. The paper continues to describe the consequences that have been encountered by the IISC, and the action that has been or is being undertaken. The concept of so-called ‘active distribution’ is defined, and is followed by discussion of the dissemination not only of GPS status and health information, but of information about how that information can be obtained. The possibility of legal implications and the consequences is also discussed and developed towards the arguments for appropriate international agreements regarding the civil use of the Global Positioning System.