GPS Could Be Disrupted In National Crisis

The Bush Administration says it will temporarily disrupt the nation's global-positioning satellites if it feels terrorists are using them in an attack.

GPS has slowly worked its way into many industries as well as consumer electronics. Marine shipping, commercial aviation, and logistics are three prime examples. For much of the technology's existence, the U.S. government has looked at GPS as an asset to be guarded.

The government, in fact, artificially limited GPS' resolution for civilian use, making it less exact. It didn't want potential enemies to have the same capabilities as U.S. military personnel. That policy was abandoned by the Clinton administration.

The Associated Press is reporting that an administration official informed a few reporters of the decision. A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the report's accuracy but declined to comment further. She recommended contacting the White House's National Security Council, but a representative there could not be reached.

Todd Krautkremer, CEO of location-based services firm Gearworks, says his firm uses GPS extensively. He says, however, that he's not concerned by the government's decision.

"There's only a slim chance that it would happen," says Krautkremer. "At the most extreme, there might be a temporary diversion of the resource to the military. It's unlikely there would be an impact."

Indeed, the AP reports that the White House can shut down or jam GPS service in specified locations.

Gearworks sells a hosted service that can monitor the location of mobile workers, such as service personnel, enabling customers to match specific employees with specific assignments based on the workers' skills and their proximity to the assignment.

"Not all location-based services use just satellites," says Krautkremer. Some companies use GPS along with cell towers, while others use just cell towers to triangulate an employee's location.