page_title: GPS signals
hierarchical_section_title: GPS signals
caption_attribution_description: English: Magellan Blazer12 GPS Receiver.
context_page_description: Global Positioning System satellites broadcast microwave signals to enable GPS receivers on or near the Earth's surface to determine location and time, and to derive velocity. The system is operated by the U.S. Department of Defense for use by both the military and the general public.
  GPS signals include ranging signals, used to measure the distance to the satellite, and navigation messages. The navigation messages include ephemeris data, used to calculate the position of each satellite in orbit, and information about the time and status of the entire satellite constellation, called the almanac.
  There are four signals available for civilian use. In order of date of introduction, these are: L1 C/A, L2C, L5 and L1C. L1 C/A is also called the legacy signal and is broadcast by all satellites. The other signals are called modernized signals and are not broadcast by all satellites. In addition, there are restricted signals with published frequencies and chip rates but encrypted coding intended to be used only by authorized parties.
context_section_description: Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites broadcast microwave signals to enable GPS receivers on or near the Earth's surface to determine location and time, and to derive velocity. The system is operated by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for use by both the military and the general public.
  GPS signals include ranging signals, used to measure the distance to the satellite, and navigation messages. The navigation messages include ephemeris data, used to calculate the position of each satellite in orbit, and information about the time and status of the entire satellite constellation, called the almanac.
  There are four signals available for civilian use. In order of date of introduction, these are: L1 C/A, L2C, L5 and L1C. L1 C/A is also called the legacy signal and is broadcast by all satellites. The other signals are called modernized signals and are not broadcast by all satellites. In addition, there are restricted signals with published frequencies and chip rates but encrypted coding intended to be used only by authorized parties. Some limited use of restricted signals can still be made by civilians without decryption; this is called codeless and semi-codeless access, and is officially supported.
  The interface to the User Segment (GPS receivers) is described in the Interface Control Documents (ICD). The format of civilian signals is described in the Interface Specification (IS) which is a subset of the ICD.
caption: Civilian GPS receiver ("GPS navigation device") in a marine application.
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