Department of Commerce

The mission of the Department if Commerce is to create the conditions for economic growth and opportunity.

GPS Roles and Responsibilities

• Promotes the interests of commercial GPS users, manufacturers, and service providers.
• Manages the U.S. network of Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS).
• Hosts the meetings and offices of the National Executive Committee for Space-Based PNT.
• Co-manages with the FCC the radio spectrum used by GPS.
• Promotes fair trade in the global market for GPS-related goods and services.
• Conducts economic studies related to GPS applications.
• Sets guidelines for the licensing of GPS-related exports.
• Performs research and development of next-generation atomic clocks.
• Applies GPS technology to a broad variety of governmental activities, including: weather and space weather forecasting; climate monitoring; vessel, aircraft, and satellite operations; fishery boundary enforcement; maintaining the National Spatial Reference System; surveying; remote sensing; implementation of geographic information systems; precision time transfer; and the national census.