With the rise in GPS monitoring comes a rise in GPS jamming.

Posted by Edward Coyle on February 22, 2012 0 Comments

All technology developments result in adaptations of many different kinds.  Because the Global Positioning Satellite system is so incredibly useful and relatively easy to integrate into new products and applications, it has become widely disseminated.  Systems of all kinds rely increasingly on being able to locate products, vehicles and people using GPS applications.  In particular, GPS is often used in tracking transport vehicles and to monitor the location and travels of various public and private employees using company-assigned vehicles.  As one might expect, with the effort to control comes a push-back by those being tracked.  A new study in the UK shows that many small GPS jammers are now operating, probably placed on commercial trucks by their operators.  Because GPS depends on relatively small power transmission, it can often be easily disrupted by radio transmissions on the same frequencies used by the tracker.  What do you expect to be the next step by those who place the GPS trackers?  Of course, that next step will be met with a further counter, leading us to yet another minor but important technological contest.