Australian Global Navigation Satellite System Coordination Committee

The Australian Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Coordination Committee (AGCC) was established in May 2000. Its role is to:

• consider and develop mechanisms to coordinate all land, sea and air aspects of GNSS;
• promote the safe and effective utilisation and development of GNSS in Australia; and
• coordinate national security issues, the application of augmentation systems, and the national use of GNSS in other relevant applications.

The committee operates a website: www.agcc.gov.au.

Membership of the AGCC

Membership of the Committee is drawn from a wide variety of sectors such as aviation; Department of Transport and Regional Services; Intelligent Transport Systems Australia; defence; emergency services; land transport; academia; spectrum management and communications; timing; geomatics and geophysics; security; and industry providers.

GPS is recognised as an important tool in mapping and surveying. The AGCC has a Geoscience Australia representative in its membership.

The AGCC maintains strong links with the Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping (ICSM) by liaising through contacts.

Policy

The national satellite navigation strategic policy, entitled Positioning for the Future was developed by the AGCC based around principles of national coverage; safety; efficiency; economic and social benefits; industry development; flexibility of policy and strategy; standards; environmental benefits; and national security.

Positioning for the Future was launched by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services, the Hon John Anderson MP, on 28 August 2002 at Parliament House.

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Legal Issues

The AGCC has addressed a number of legal issues. The legal issues being studied include interference, jamming, signal verification and legal liability.

Verification of Timing and Signals

The successful use of satellite navigation technology relies on the generation of accurate timing and positioning data. On occasion, GPS positioning data is used for evidence purposes in the courts, and there is a need for an independent authority to verify the performance of the GPS signal at a given point in time.

The AGCC's Legal Issues Working Group (LWG) investigated the way in which GPS position and time is derived and how it relates to the GPS data collected and processed by Geoscience Australia and to coordinated universal time (UTC) as measured by the CSIRO National Measurement Laboratory (NML) in Australia. The group investigated whether the data collected and the tracing of GPS time in this way was sufficient for the purposes of evidence in Australian courts for signal verification.

The AGCC concluded that the CSIRO NML and Geoscience Australia record and maintain sufficient data to support the accurate and reliable calculation of timing and position data, and that these records may provide appropriate evidence for the verification of GPS signals. Geoscience Australia also collects data that would provide some assistance to verify GLONASS signals if required.

It should be noted however, that when considering whether information derived from satellite navigation technology can be admitted into evidence, regard should first be given to the statutory position of the relevant jurisdiction.

Protection of the Spectrum

The AGCC played an important role in achieving security of the radiofrequency spectrum frequencies used by GPS in Australia through supporting the acquisition by the Department of Defence of licences for those frequencies under the Radiocommunications Act 1992.

Interference and Jamming (unintended and malicious)

The AGCC has initiated a process by the Australian Communications Authority towards the prohibition of GPS jamming devices under the Radiocommunications Act 1992. Exceptions would be provided for legitimate users of such devices, such as the defence forces.

The AGCC concluded that there appeared to be no social utility in permitting the ownership or use of GPS jammers in Australia (other than for Defence or law enforcement purposes), and that declaring GPS jammers to be "prohibited devices" under section 190 of the Radiocommunications Act 1992 would be a proactive step that would clearly signal the importance accorded to protecting satellite navigation transmissions, and would also provide an additional protection mechanism against interference with such transmissions.

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Users Reassured on GPS Performance April 2003

The AGCC has kept the users of GPS in Australia informed on the removal of selective availability. Most recently, in April 2003, GPS users were assured that there had been no recent action taken by the United States which would degrade the performance of the Global Positioning System in Australia.

A media report in April 2003 incorrectly asserted that the United States had been intentionally degrading the performance of GPS, with negative consequences for GPS applications in Australia. An intentional degrading of the GPS signal, known as Selective Availability, was in the past used to provide US and Allied military forces with a navigational advantage in times of crisis or conflict. Selective Availability was terminated at the beginning of May 2000, with an assurance by the United States that it would not be used again.

Agencies represented on the Australian GNSS Coordination Committee, and which continuously monitor GPS signals, have seen no recent degradation of GPS performance. United States government agencies have confirmed that Selective Availability has not been reintroduced.

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Studies commissioned by the AGCC

During 2001, the AGCC commissioned two studies, one to assess the potential for unintended interference to GNSS applications by transmissions from other sources, and the other to assess the rate of adoption of GNSS technology in the agriculture sector. More information on these studies is found here.