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What’s new: Articles and papers exploring the PNT capability of communications systems. One of the most recent and accessible is “Communications-PNT integration: A new architectural layer for resilient and ubiquitous navigation” in GPS World.
Why it’s important:
- Layering and fusing systems can add to user accuracy and resilience. RNT Foundation supports system of systems approaches that make users safer and more secure.
- Shared dependencies can be a problem in some scenarios. For example, if 5G/6G, Wi-Fi and other comms systems still depend to some degree on timing from GPS/GNSS, they will also be impacted by significant satnav disruptions.
- If the goal is to deter interference with GPS/GNSS, eliminate the strategic and tactical PNT advantages China and Russia have over the U.S. and the west, and protect nations in the event of attack, major solar event, cascading space debris, or GPS system error, then a alternative, GNSS-independent complementary and backup system is needed. One that is easily accessed and widely adopted.
What else to know:
- National leadership is needed to affirm the nation’s PNT goals, establish requirements, and ensure they are met.
Communications-PNT integration: A new architectural layer for resilient and ubiquitous navigation
Published
1. Introduction
Throughout the past several decades, GNSS has become one of the most significant technologies in modern engineering, supporting transportation, communications, finance, emergency response, and critical infrastructure [1]. Its precision, global reach, and reliability have enabled entire industries to scale in ways that would otherwise have been impossible. Yet as GNSS is used more deeply in autonomy-driven and safety-critical domains, the limitations of relying on a single-layer PNT architecture are becoming increasingly apparent.
