[Satellite Today 11-13-08] The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) is implementing a statewide network of 80 GNSS reference stations provided by Leica Geosystems, the company announced Nov. 13.
    The Iowa Real Time Network will provide authorized public and private users near-instantaneous GPS satellite corrections for accurate and precise positioning anywhere in the state. Each station will include a Leica GRX1200 GG Pro GNSS receiver with Ethernet capabilities. The satellite referencing network will use GPSm Glonass and Galileo satellites for data.
    The network “will significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of determining survey-level GNSS coordinates, and, in most cases, eliminate the need to install base stations or proprietary networks,” Mike Jackson, a special projects engineer with Iowa DOT, said in a statement. “It’s a network built with unlimited potential that can be used by a vast array of users from surveyors and contractors to farmers.”
    The network is scheduled to launch to the public in February. Leica Geosystems has a renewable two-year contract to manage the administration and monitoring of the Iowa DOT network.