Latest News: A media article about multiple signal jammers disrupting French airport operations. Once the authorities discovered one, they discovered another, and then another!

Why It’s Important:

1. GPS interference at airports can cause flight delays.
2. Many airlines will not let the plane leave the gate without a good GPS lock.
3. We have already seen cases of outages affecting landing systems. See: Events in Denver-Newark
4. In the worst-case scenario, an outage, even an unexpected one, can result in loss of life. Check out the thrills of Sun Valley.

What Else to Know:

• The EU STRIKE3 project has identified many cases of interference in or near airports.
• News reports like this about flight delays happen from time to time.
• In the United States, the FCC is the regulatory agency responsible for preventing such incidents and enforcing the rules.
• uUnfortunately, over the past two decades, the FCC has significantly reduced the number of personnel and equipment suitable for the job..

ANFR Fighting against phone jammer

Candice Clark 18 July 2023

In France, the National Spectrum Administration (ANFR) is responsible for enforcing rules banning radio jammers, including those that interfere with GNSS services. The availability of GNSS data is critical for many critical applications, so disruptions to GPS, Galileo, GLONASS and Beidou are as serious as cyber attacks.

ANFR's sworn representatives have the authority to investigate violations of national spectrum use regulations. They are often used to locate active gps jammer, either on a vehicle or in a fixed location. Catherine Gabay, ANFR Deputy Director for Frequency Monitoring and Enforcement, reported on some recent cases during the 2023 International Symposium on Navigation and Timing Technologies (ITSNT) in Toulouse.

In March 2023, an instance happened near Merville airport. The Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGAC) notified ANFR of interference on the L1 frequency, which was disrupting flights and air ambulance helicopters. ANFR agents quickly reviewed in-flight information and discovered a GNSS jammer aboard a commercial vehicle. The police were brought in to assist with the seizure of the equipment, and the driver was arrested.