[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 157 (Monday, August 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49544-49545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20595]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

[Docket No. 000623194-0221-02]

RIN 0660-XX09


Notice; Request for Comments on Global Positioning System/
Ultrawideband Measurement Plan

AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) and the 
Office of Spectrum Management (OSM) of the National Telecommunications 
and Information Administration (NTIA) invite interested parties to 
review and comment on a proposed measurement plan to assess the 
potential mechanisms and the extent of any interference to Global 
Positioning System (GPS) receivers from ultrawideband (UWB) 
transmission systems.\1\ The GPS/UWB Measurement Plan will be placed on 
the NTIA homepage at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/uwbtestplan/gpstestfr.htm>. Interested parties may also obtain a copy of the 
measurement plan from OSM or ITS.
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    \1\ NTIA recently sought public comment on a test plan covering 
the effects of UWB signals on selected Federal radio receivers other 
than GPS receivers. See Notice and Request for Comments on 
Ultrawideband Systems Test Plan, 65 FR 40614 (June 30, 2000). That 
notice and comments received in response to that notice are also 
available on NTIA's homepage at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/uwbtestplan/>.

DATES: Interested parties are invited to submit comments on the GPS/UWB

[[Page 49545]]

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Measurement Plan no later than August 29, 2000.

SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS: The Department invites the public to submit 
comments on GPS/UWB Measurement Plan in paper or electronic form. 
Comments may be mailed to Steve Jones, Office of Spectrum Management, 
National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Room 6725 
HCHB, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20230. Paper 
submissions should include a diskette in ASCII, WordPerfect (please 
specify version) or Microsoft Word (please specify version) format. 
Diskettes should be labeled with the name and organizational 
affiliation of the filer, and the name version of the word processing 
program used to create the document.
    In the alternative, comments may be submitted electronically to the 
following electronic mail address: [email protected]>. Comments 
submitted via electronic mail should be submitted in one or more of the 
formats specified above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Jones, Office of Spectrum 
Management, telephone: (202) 482-0110; or electronic mail: 
[email protected]>; or Randy Hoffman, Institute for 
Telecommunication Sciences, telephone: (303) 497-3582; or electronic 
mail: [email protected]>. Media inquiries should be directed to 
the Office of Public Affairs, National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration, at (202) 482-7002.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Recent advances in microcircuit and other technologies have 
resulted in the development of pulsed radar and communications systems 
with very narrow pulse widths and very wide bandwidths. These UWB 
systems have instantaneous bandwidths of at least 25 percent of the 
center frequency of the device. UWB systems can perform a number of 
useful telecommunication functions that make them very appealing for 
both the commercial and government applications. These systems have 
very wide information bandwidths, are capable of accurately locating 
nearby objects, and can use processing technology with UWB pulses to 
``see through objects'' and communicate using multiple propagation 
paths. However, the bandwidths of UWB devices are so wide that, 
although their average power levels, in many cases, are low enough to 
be authorized under the unlicensed device regulations of the NTIA and 
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), some of the systems emit 
signals in bands in which such transmissions are not permitted because 
of potential harmful effects on critical radiocommunication services.
    The GPS is a critical radiocommunication system. GPS is presently 
used by aviation for en-route and non-precision approach and landing 
phases of flight. The Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) for Category 
I precision approach service and the Local Area Augmentation System 
(LAAS) for Category II/III precision approach service are planned to be 
available for public use. GPS is also in the final stage of approval as 
an international aviation standard. Companion GPS-based applications 
for runway incursion and ground traffic management are also underway. 
Additionally, GPS-based public safety systems and services are being 
fielded. Planned systems, such as Enhanced 9-1-1 and personal location 
and medical tracking devices are expected to be commercially available 
in the near future. The U.S. telecommunications and power distribution 
systems are also dependent upon GPS for network synchronization timing. 
Moreover, GPS is a powerful enabling technology that has created new 
industries and new industrial practices fully dependent upon GPS signal 
reception.
    Since GPS has such a pivotal role in many critical systems, NTIA 
has undertaken this measurement program to develop information to 
evaluate the potential for interference from UWB transmission systems 
to GPS receivers used for different applications. The GPS/UWB 
Measurement Plan identifies the GPS receivers to be considered; 
identifies the UWB transmission system parameters to be considered; 
proposes a GPS receiver performance metric and criterion; and develops 
general measurement procedures for calibration and assessing the 
interference potential.

Questions for Public Comment

    Interested parties are requested to submit comments on any of the 
technical issues in the GPS/UWB Measurement Plan. In addition, comments 
are requested on the questions below to assist NTIA in refining the 
measurement plan. Comments should cite the number of the question(s) 
being addressed. Please provide any references to support the responses 
to the questions.
    1. Are the candidate GPS receivers identified in the measurement 
plan representative of the different technologies and user 
applications?
    2. Are the UWB transmission system parameters identified in the 
measurement plan representative of the parameters for UWB transmission 
systems envisioned for use by the public?
    3. Is pseudo-range error a performance metric for aviation GPS 
receivers that operate in accordance with Technical Standard Order 
(TSO) C-129a? If so what is the limit on pseudo-range error?
    4. If pseudo-range error is not an applicable performance metric 
for GPS receivers that operate in accordance with TSO-C129a, what 
performance metric should be used? What is associated performance 
criteria?
    5. Is a performance metric of time to reacquire a satellite 
applicable to GPS receivers used for terrestrial applications (e.g., 
public safety)? If so what is the associated performance criteria?
    6. A reacquisition time of 1 second has been proposed by at least 
one GPS receiver manufacturer for terrestrial applications. Due to the 
latency inherent in the GPS receiver can a 1 second reacquisition time 
be accurately measured?
    7. What are the performance metrics and associated criteria for GPS 
receivers used for surveying, maritime, and recreational applications?

Kathy D. Smith,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 00-20595 Filed 8-11-00; 8:45 am]
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