Senators Introduce the RETAIN GPS Act

Ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Mike Rounds (R-SD) introduced the Recognizing and Ensuring Taxpayer Access to Infrastructure Necessary for GPS and Satellite Communications (RETAIN GPS) Act (S.2166). The April 2020 Ligado Order from the Federal Communications Commission recognized the likelihood of interference to GPS signals and requires Ligado Networks to pay the federal government the costs for repairs. However, 99 percent of the more than 900 million GPS devices found in the United States are used by the private sector, consumers, as well as state and local governments; under the Ligado Order, they would have to bear the costs. The bipartisan RETAIN GPS Act will require Ligado Networks to cover the cost for correcting any interference their operations create for the public or private sector and specifically outlines all the areas of potential costs that must be borne by Ligado Networks, including but not limited to engineering, construction, site acquisition, research, personnel or contracting staff, and labor costs.