U.S. DOT Plans to Continue Inland NDGPS Ops — for Now

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has approved a decision to continue the inland component of the Nationwide Differential GPS (NDGPS), based on the results of a user assessment conducted by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA).

RITA assessed the current user needs and systems requirements for the inland component of NDGPS. It gathered information through public responses to a notice in the Federal Register (including responses from state and local governments, the private sector, and the non-profit sector), and through quantification of the mission requirements of other federal agencies using inland NDGPS, according to DOT.

But this doesn’t mean that funding of inland NDGPS is not still up in the air. Earlier this year, DOT included in its fiscal 2009 federal budget request a $4.6 million line item in the RITA budget for NDGPS operations and maintenance of the current system through October 2009.

Discussions are ongoing regarding the program’s future funding mechanism, and will be addressed in future budget submissions, DOT said. The National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Executive Committee endorsed DOT’s decision at its meeting in March.