In response to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s September 27, 2023, presentation about the new PNT Strategic Plan, the Open PNT Industry Alliance submitted a letter to U.S. DOT in support of their strategy.
OPIA expressed to U.S. DOT that the Strategic Plan aligns with the coalition’s mission, which is to promote open market concepts that preserve industry’s long-term ability to harness its collective ingenuity to protect GPS/GNSS with multiple solutions that are technologically advanced, commercially viable, and based on a sustainable long-term funding framework.
In particular, members of the alliance asserted that a competitive marketplace is essential to provide full resilience, drive continuing innovation, and deliver cost-effective solutions. OPIA encouraged officials to ensure that the U.S. DOT PNT Strategic Plan acknowledges how the most robust GPS backup and protection capabilities and complementary forms of PNT required by critical infrastructure are only possible through an open approach that encourages technology diversity throughout the industry.
The table below summarizes highlights of the letter that underscore how OPIA’s views and DOT’s objectives can be harmonized in the service of driving the responsible use of PNT and ensuring resilience for U.S. critical infrastructure:
| DOT Strategic Goal | OPIA Response |
|---|---|
| #1 – Advance PNT Capabilities & Services | Whether considered individually or taken together, OPIA members are driving imaginative R&D initiatives to continually improve performance specifications and expand the range of operational attributes of their PNT solutions. The coalition is interested in joining DOT’s effort to bring about the kind of advancements that meet the ever-evolving requirements for complementary PNT within a robust national PNT architecture. |
| #2 – Build Resiliency into PNT Services and Capabilities | OPIA holds that the technological landscape is diverse enough to allow multiple alternatives to GPS/GNSS with varied operational characteristics to deliver on the promise of resilience across a complex and ever-expanding set of customer requirements. Alliance members are ready to work with DOT to advance the pursuit of the critical initiatives defined in the PNT Strategic Plan. |
| #3 – Address PNT Cybersecurity | OPIA endorses DOT’s efforts to incorporate security-oriented PNT principles into programs initiated through the PNT Strategic Plan. The members of the coalition stand ready to support DOT and its pursuit of critical initiatives to ensure not only that PNT systems enabling critical infrastructure are protected by cybersecurity measures that conform to the responsible use of PNT, but also that PNT capabilities are themselves included as part of the broader cybersecurity construct for critical infrastructure owners and operators. |
| #4 – Ensure Spectrum Availability & Protection for PNT Services | OPIA supports DOT programs and critical initiatives to ensure that GPS and complementary PNT services can enjoy access to the spectrum that they need today and tomorrow and that such spectrum is protected from harmful interference to ensure resilience. |
| #5 – Lead U.S. Civilian PNT Coordination | The market interests of our members are as diverse as our technologies. That is, the companies that make up the Open PNT Industry Alliance are involved in all manner of working groups, standards bodies, technical and commercial conferences, and other market efforts that have varying degrees of U.S. Government exposure. DOT can count on OPIA and its members to be willing and active private sector partners to aid DOT’s fulfillment of this important goal. |
Check out OPIA’s full response to U.S. DOT for complete details on the coalition’s positions.