U.S. Wants Japan's Cooperation For GPS Technology Improvements

09/11/96

Nikkei English News has reported that the U.S. government wants Japan to sign a bilateral agreement to upgrade global positioning system (GPS) technology. GPS technology is based on satellite communications and has both civilian and military uses, such as car-navigation and missile-guidance systems.

The U.S. regards support from Japanese companies that have experience in developing and mass producing positioning systems as crucial step toward standardizing and upgrading of GPS technology.

The U.S. wants to distribute the GPS technology worldwide and boost exports as part of its economic policy. Japanese collaboration would establish an international standard, and would guarantee Japanese use of the jointly developed or upgraded technology free of charge for about 20 years.

The Japanese sources say Japan expects to honor the U.S. request, which has been forwarded by a project team organized by the U.S. departments of state, transportation, and defense. The concerned Japanese ministries, include the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. The two countries will reportedly begin discussions of the proposal between October and December.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel