The GPS industry is forming a new trade association called the GPS Innovation Alliance, as InsideGNSS reported. The Alliance will work to educate policy makers and the public about the GPS system and protect the interests of the hundreds of organizations and users that rely upon the constellation, according to sources familiar with the new group.
The new organization will be based in Washington, D.C., according to a source familiar with the effort and will be jointly announced by the Coalition to Save Our GPS and the GPS Industry Council within the next several days. A launch party is scheduled for Feburary 13.
The Alliance has it roots in a fight over frequency interference that consumed the GPS community for much of 2011 and 2012. “This is a great opportunity to talk with and work with policy makers,” said another source familiar with the project. “A lot is coming down the pike on aviation and there are so many other issues,” the source added, citing agriculture and the importance of GPS to exports.
