    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
    [May 1, 2000]
    [Page 803]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on the Decision To Stop Degrading Global Positioning System
    Signals
    May 1, 2000

        Today I am pleased to announce that the United States will stop the
    intentional degradation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) signals
    available to the public beginning at midnight tonight. We call this
    degradation feature Selective Availability (SA). This will mean that
    civilian users of GPS will be able to pinpoint locations up to 10 times
    more accurately than they do now. GPS is a dual-use, satellite-based
    system that provides accurate location and timing data to users
    worldwide. My March 1996 Presidential decision directive included in the
    goals for GPS to: ``encourage acceptance and integration of GPS into
    peaceful civil, commercial, and scientific applications worldwide; and
    to encourage private sector investment in and use of U.S. GPS
    technologies and services.'' To meet these goals, I committed the U.S.
    to discontinuing the use of SA by 2006, with an annual assessment of its
    continued use beginning this year.
        The decision to discontinue SA is the latest measure in an ongoing
    effort to make GPS more responsive to civil and commercial users
    worldwide. Last year Vice President Gore announced our plans to
    modernize GPS by adding two new civilian signals to enhance the civil
    and commercial service. This initiative is on track, and the budget
    further advances modernization by incorporating some of the new features
    on up to 18 additional satellites that are already awaiting launch or
    are in production. We will continue to provide all of these capabilities
    to worldwide users, free of charge.
        My decision to discontinue SA was based upon a recommendation by the
    Secretary of Defense in coordination with the Departments of State,
    Transportation, Commerce, the Director of Central Intelligence, and
    other executive branch departments and agencies. They realized that
    worldwide transportation safety, scientific, and commercial interests
    could best be served by discontinuation of SA. Along with our commitment
    to enhance GPS for peaceful applications, my administration is committed
    to preserving fully the military utility of GPS. The decision to
    discontinue SA is coupled with our continuing efforts to upgrade the
    military utility of our systems that use GPS and is supported by threat
    assessments which conclude that setting SA to zero at this time would
    have minimal impact on national security. Additionally, we have
    demonstrated the capability to selectively deny GPS signals on a
    regional basis when our national security is threatened. This regional
    approach to denying navigation services is consistent with the 1996 plan
    to discontinue the degradation of civil and commercial GPS service
    globally through the SA technique.
        Originally developed by the Department of Defense as a military
    system, GPS has become a global utility. It benefits users around the
    world in many different applications, including air, road, marine, and
    rail navigation, telecommunications, emergency response, oil
    exploration, mining, and many more. Civilian users will realize a
    dramatic improvement in GPS accuracy with the discontinuation of SA. For
    example, emergency teams responding to a cry for help can now determine
    what side of the highway they must respond to, thereby saving precious
    minutes. This increase in accuracy will allow new GPS applications to
    emerge and continue to enhance the lives of people around the world.