We all make jokes about how we are tied to our mobile devices, and how we can’t go a minute without them, even though until recent years, we never had them in the first place. Now we are tied to our GPS devices, and when they don’t work right, we get very upset. This was proven last month by NATO. Twice annually, NATO holds naval training exercises off the coast of Scotland. These exercises involve ships and soldiers from 14 different NATO member nations. The most recent set of exercises, which took place in October, interrupted GPS systems, and the public was extremely upset about this turn of events. In fact, people were so upset that they actually interrupted the exercises.
GPS Jamming
There are many training exercises that take place during these bi-annual sessions, and some of the exercises involved using GPS jammers to disrupt signals. Although the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom did much to inform the public of what would be taking place, residents were still pretty mad when their devices were rendered unusable for a short period of time. People were actually warned that their smartphones and other devices would be affected by the jammers long before the exercises took place. Unfortunately, not everyone heard these warnings, and many people were not expecting their devices to just stop working all of the sudden.
People Didn’t Hear Warnings
Even though there were warnings, many people were angry when they were not able to use their devices. Some people claimed that they were given no warning at all, including fishermen who ended up having to discontinue their work until the exercises were over. The Royal Navy received several complaints about the disruption of signals and device failure during the exercises, and it was forced to stop the GPS jamming until they could figure out how to do the exercises without affecting the signals used by the general population.
Questions Raised
Because of all of the problems caused by the naval exercises involving GPS technology, many are wondering just how much damage can be caused by signal jamming. Anyone can purchase a GPS jammer, and some people fear that these may fall into the hands of terrorists who could use the technology in a dangerous manner. Others are worried that they are becoming far too dependent on their devices, including GPS, and that the inconvenience of a disruption could actually be dangerous for some people. In fact, earlier this year, the Royal Academy of Engineering issued a report that stated how we should not be so reliant on GPS technology, as it is not always completely accurate.
Luckily, GPS technology is improving every day. Because of these events, the next time the Royal Navy conducts exercises such as these that there will probably not be the problems that were experienced last month. With advances in technology, and more information being relayed to the public so that everyone will know to expect signals will be jammed and they will be unable to use their devices for a short period of time. Exercises should be able to be conducted without disrupting the daily lives of too many people.
