As the FCC explores GPS alternatives, Apple has told the US regulator to avoid mandating a specific provider, especially one that could collect location data and threaten user privacy.
In early March, the commission launched a formal inquiry into using “commercial technologies” to complement GPS, a decades-old satellite-driven technology from the Department of Defense. In a Tuesday letter to the FCC, Apple said it supports the development of “Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT)” technologies to supplement GPS, which has long been crucial for today’s online mapping services. But the company urges the FCC to keep things flexible, rather than forcing a single solution across the tech industry.
“The Commission should avoid rules and policies that effectively mandate the use of specific PNT technologies,” Apple says. “Similarly, FCC actions should not unnecessarily constrain the use of specific PNT technologies.”
The 17-page letter points out potential dangers with alternative GPS providers. For example, Apple says the FCC needs to ensure that each PNT solution uses the best security practices without imposing “form factor, power, or other constraints on smartphones.”
“Finally, because location data can reveal very sensitive information, the Commission should ensure that PNT solutions protect Americans’ privacy,” the company adds. “Specifically, PNT solutions should process location information on-device where possible, have access only to the data needed to provide the PNT service, adhere to security best practices, and provide users with transparency and control of how, when, and with whom the solution shares their location.”
(Credit: US Space Force)
The current GPS system, which operates via 30+ US satellites, does not collect user data. Instead, the satellites transmit signals that a phone’s built-in GPS receiver uses to calculate its approximate location. Despite GPS’s popularity, the FCC cites the security risks of the US relying on a single technology to provide positioning and navigation.
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Apple wants the FCC to foster multiple approaches to PNT. “When manufacturers can adopt different PNT strategies, it is more difficult for bad actors to exploit vulnerabilities,” it says.
In addition, Apple says it’s already trying to depend less on GPS. “For example, Apple’s Core Location framework can estimate device location using data not only from GPS, but also from available radiofrequency (RF) inputs such as Wi-Fi and cellular signal information, along with non-RF data sources such as the information derived from a device’s magnetometer and barometer,” the company says.
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“Apple is highly motivated to continue leveraging technological advances to improve the geolocation experience for end users,” the letter adds. “Regulations should not replace these market forces with government mandates.”
SpaceX has also weighed in on the FCC’s proposal. In a 5-page letter, it advocated for a “broad-based, technology-neutral approach,” which could include next-generation satellites, a reference to Starlink. To do so, the company says the FCC should consider allowing satellites to transmit PNT information “over a range of spectrum bands” since GPS currently relies on a “small set of dedicated L-band frequencies.”
“A future PNT ‘system-of-systems’ should shift away from dedicating specific frequencies for PNT toward an approach that enables PNT information to be transmitted over any authorized frequency band—including the low-, mid-, and high-band frequencies on which consumers rely today for their mobile and fixed broadband service,” according to SpaceX, which joined Apple in urging the FCC to reject “calls to lock in American consumers to a particular proprietary solution.”
About Michael Kan
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