

GPS back-up: World War Two technology employed - keithpeter
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-29758872

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ChuckMcM
"In the event of a GPS failure." which probably means that either the world is
at war again, or we've finally crossed the tipping point on space junk and
everything in medium earth orbit (MEO or 12,500 miles) is now just a cloud of
parts working its way into LEO as the orbits decay.

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th0br0
... or there's a hostile attack on your location that somehow manages to
disturb GPS signals.

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thrillgore
Or the US deactivates GPS in your location. Which they can do.

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chatmasta
I'm surprised, given all the focus on surveillance, that nobody is talking
about the fact that GPS _is entirely controlled by the US government._ [1]

Any time one of your devices contacts a GPS satellite, it's telling a system
of satellites owned and maintained by the US government _exactly where you
are._

It does not seem at all far-fetched that some government "intelligence" agency
is collecting, mining, and processing this data.

Please, if I'm wrong about the system being totally US-controlled, I would
love to be corrected.

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System)

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pronoiac
While the satellites are US-controlled, the communication is strictly in one
direction; your GPS listens, it doesn't broadcast. I mean, do you think that
news anchors can watch you through your TV?

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alistairSH
Yes?
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8537039](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8537039)

