The PNT.gov website provides users with an inside look at U.S. GPS policy, as well as the thoughts of those who influence that policy. The minutes from this spring's meeting of the PNT Advisory Board are worth looking through. In particular, the discussion on the number of optimal GPS satellites is positive.

Mobile phones are becoming powerful enough to rival some of the most powerful field data collection devices ever made. Our industry is catching the attention of some software developers who are writing software for smart phones that can be very productive for field personnel.

It's going to be a few years and then some before we can take advantage of L5. And when the time comes it may require an investment in new hardware, even if the receiver you have today claims to be compatible. Nevertheless, it will be a boon to the high-precision user.

Japan's satellite-based augmentation system has brought meter-level accuracy to that region, which is great news for mapping. But there are even centimeter-level options available that take advantage of Japan's MSAS.

The use of GPS and GNSS technology for precision agriculture hasn't changed much in years. But lately, supplemental technology has been showing up more frequently down on the farm.

There has been a lot of activity on both the civilian and military sides of GPS/GNSS these past few weeks. Instead of a central theme to this newsletter, I'm going to comment on three points of interest: a DoD directive regarding position, navigation, and timing; PRN32; and some new product developments.

With nearly 60 GPS engineers and scientists, the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) is one of the biggest GPS R&D centers in the world today.

It appears the US Department of Transportation has bought the Nationwide Differential GPS system (NDGPS) another year.

On the GPS front, I'm going to paraphrase, plagiarize, and otherwise copy from my fellow newsletter editor Don Jewell, who writes the Military & Government PNT newsletter. He spent decades on the inside looking out (think Lt. Col. Jewell) and offers interesting perspectives