FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

News:

U.S. Department of Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs

Transportation Washington, D.C. 20590

http://www.dot.gov/briefing.htm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DOT 36-00

Friday, February 18, 2000 Contact: Bill Mosley

Tel.: (202) 366-5571

New Radionavigation Plan Eyes Transition

To Satellite-Based Services in 21^st Century

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater and U.S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen today announced the release of a plan which highlights government-operated navigations system, as well as the transition to satellite navigation -- the guidance system of the 21^st century.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) today jointly released the 1999 Federal Radionavigation Plan (FRP), which includes plans for two additional Global Positioning System (GPS) signals for civil use and a revised schedule for making the transition to GPS. This plan emphasizes again the administration’s strong commitment to civil GPS modernization by placing two new signals on the GPS satellites as promised by Vice President Al Gore in March 1998.

"President Clinton and Vice President Gore recognize the importance of moving ahead with modernization of GPS to include the two new civil signals, which users need to satisfy many of their requirements," Secretary Slater said. "Satellite systems are likely to predominate in the 21^st century as the new worldwide standard for positioning, navigation and time dissemination, and GPS offers the opportunity of improving the quality of lives for our citizens through its application across virtually every mode of transportation."

Secretary Slater added that determining the schedule for the transition from current systems and what part of the current radionavigation infrastructure to retain is a complex matter which should involve government, industry and users. The administration’s current efforts are directed toward ensuring a sensible transition to satellite-based navigation services, with recognition of the need to maintain some existing navigation aids, he added.

The 1999 FRP has revised schedules for phasing down most land-based radionavigation systems to allow more time to transition to GPS. The plan calls for the government to continue operating LORAN-C, a land-based system currently in use, in the short term while the Administration continues to evaluate the long-term need for the system. DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration has requested $20 million in the fiscal 2001 budget for LORAN-C upgrades.

Publication of the FRP is required by law and is a joint product of the Departments of Transportation and Defense. Secretary Slater noted DOD’s continuing cooperation in producing this policy and planning document, which serves both military and civil needs.

Free copies of the 1999 FRP are available from the Volpe National Transportation System Center, Kendall Square, Cambridge, Mass. 02142, telephone (617) 494-2908. The 1999 FRP is also on the Internet World Wide Web at http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/pubs/frp1999.

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