Russia and India has signed two cooperation agreements on GLONASS, which will be used by Moscow’s longtime partner in the military-technical sector. The agreements were signed by the head of Russia’s Federal Space Agency, Anatoly Perminov, and Madhavan Nair, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Perminov earlier said Russia and India plan to jointly use GLONASS. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that Moscow and New Delhi had agreed to launch GLONASS-M satellites with the help of Indian booster rockets, and to create new-generation navigation satellites. The Russian Ministry of Defense has already lifted all restrictions on obtaining and using the geospatial information provided by the GLONASS.
http://en.rian.ru

Mark Plotkin, head of the Amazon Conservation Team and his colleagues are teaching Amazon Indians to use handheld GPS computers and Googlemaps. It is being used to plot water sources, areas of illegal logging, sacred areas, hunting spots, religious sanctuaries, medicinal plants and much more. The result is detailed maps of areas that are both very vulnerable to exploitation (e.g. illegal logging) and very diffi cult to patrol and protect.
www.newscientist.com

Allbizreport.com announces the World GPS Market Forecast (2006- 2008) report reviews the recent market status, developments and capabilities of GPS. The key findings are:
- The worldwide GPS market will reach a value of more than US$ 30    Billion approximately by 2008.
- The people tracking and handset market segments under GPS will    have the largest growth rate, of approximately 9%, by 2008.
-  Use of digital signaling and media broadcasts has increased the
   demand for the use of network applications fi tted with GPS tools,    thereby paving the way for cheaper and more reliable GPS devices.
-  The key opportunity lies in the field of RFID.
-  However, cost of deployment would be a major deciding
factor.
www.allbizreport.com

International time coordination is improving throughout the Americas by using a system that relies on GPS satellites and the Internet. The time and frequency network of the Sistema Interamericano de Metrologia (SIM), or Inter-American Metrology System, began operation in 2005 and includes national metrology institutes in member nations of the Organization of American States (OAS). The SIM network currently compares time and frequency measurements made in Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Panama and the USA. Costa Rica and Columbia are expected join the network soon, and additional OAS members have expressed interest.
www.ccnmag.com

The Transportation Department (DOT) of USA wants comments on whether to shut down the ground-based Long- Range Navigation (LORAN) system operated by the Coast Guard or to develop a fully deployed enhancedLORAN (eLORAN) system that could serve as a GPS backup. It is also working with the Homeland Security Department, which includes the Coast Guard, to determine whether investments made so far now merit consideration of eLORAN as complementary electronic system to GPS. The Coast Guard has spent USD 160 million on LORAN modernization since 1997.
www.fcw.com

Chronos Technology, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and Bath
University announce the formation of the Saturn Consortium The consortium proposes to assess the susceptibility of GNSS applications to external interference and multipath problems. It aims to develop cost effective techniques to assess local availability of GNSS transmissions,
and to defi ne new standards for Galileo integrity and availability at the point of use.
louise.davies@chronos.co.uk