DOT Funds NAB Field Test for the Broadcast Positioning System
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded NAB a $744,000 contract to field test the Broadcast Positioning System (BPS) with Dominion Energy, NAB said in a news release Monday. BPS is based on ATSC 3.0 broadcasts' creation of a precise timestamp for the emission of each broadcast frame, which, along with the location of multiple ATSC 3.0 transmitters in a given area, can be used to calculate a position comparable in accuracy to GPS. “This first-of-its-kind field test is part of the federal government’s broader effort to develop resilient alternatives to GPS for position, navigation and timing services,” NAB's release said. The field test will take place in the Washington/Baltimore area, an industry official told us.
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The U.S. lacks a viable backup for GPS, which is widely considered a problem for national security. Patrick Diamond, a member of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Advisory Board, told us in April that U.S. infrastructure would collapse in roughly 30 days if GPS were taken down (see 2504070066).
Under the terms of the contract, NAB and Dominion will partner to deploy and evaluate the BPS technology in a real-world field trial. “Dominion brings essential expertise as a critical infrastructure provider, helping to assess how BPS can bolster the resilience of the electric grid and other key systems,” the release said. “To fully realize the potential of this technology, we must achieve a nationwide transition to ATSC 3.0,” NAB CEO Curtis LeGeyt added in the release. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced Monday that the agency will vote on an ATSC 3.0 transition NPRM at its Oct. 28 meeting (see 2510060059).