USGIC - A True Pioneer in Advancing GPS
The GPS Innovation Alliance built on the proud heritage and extensive expertise of the USGIC as the Alliance broadened the network of GPS advocates and its relationships with the GPS community.
The United States GPS Industry Council - USGIC - was founded in July 1991 to promote broader commercial applications of GPS and to expand global markets while assisting in safeguarding the technology's military advantages. It has a long and proud history of highly effective advocacy on behalf of the GPS industry, as well as serving as a trusted source of objective information for policy makers, the media and the public both in the U.S. and around the world.
From its inception, USGIC forged strong alliances with the industry and government groups in the U.S. and abroad responsible for building and operating satellite navigation systems, serving as a technical information resource. The Council has also played a pivotal role in defending GPS spectrum from encroachment and harmful interference.
Senior U.S. policy makers in multiple administrations and Congress have called upon USGIC for information to support major policy decisions affecting the future of GPS funding, management and technical performance. USGIC-sponsored research and cooperation with GPS manufacturers and users globally helped lay the foundations for the U.S. government's positions on spectrum protection presented at World Radiocommunication Conferences.
A pioneer in assisting policy formulation and market development for GPS applications and products, USGIC was the first industry association devoted exclusively to balancing the interests of an expanding commercial industry with the critical national security concerns of this powerful technology. For more than two decades, every major policy initiative regarding GPS was made with active consultation with USGIC. This includes landmark policy decisions such as the current export control rules which opened global markets for largely unrestricted exports of civilian GPS products; the 1996 Presidential Decision Directive on GPS policy and the 2004 Presidential Directive on PNT policy; the 1998 U.S.-Japan Joint Statement on GPS Cooperation; establishment of a nationwide DGPS network; protection of GPS radio spectrum via domestic and international regulatory fora; and funding for GPS modernization efforts.
In carrying out its principal objective of being an information resource, a wide range of U.S. policy makers have regularly relied upon USGIC. This includes representatives from the Department of Defense, Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation, U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Aviation Administration, Office of the United States Trade Representative, three congressional committees, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Congressional Research Service, and the intelligence community.
On the international front, USGIC has helped to open markets for GPS applications and ensure a fair competitive environment for U.S. GPS products. It has worked closely with authorities of other satellite navigation systems such as Europe's GALILEO, Japan's QZSS, and Russia's GLONASS to ensure the smooth adoption of these systems into an effective global satellite navigation environment. The Council was instrumental in the formation of GPS industry councils in Japan, Scandinavia, China and Canada, and was frequently consulted by industry and corporate leaders, as well as government policy makers, in these countries and others for authoritative and objective information.