Some folks are proposing that a nationwide RTK Network (RTN) be piggy-backed on the controversial LightSquared communications network. That could be cool, if it can be done. No one is saying that it can’t be done, but there are reservations on whether it would be worth the massive investments needed to pull it off, and that there might be little gain at all over the existing presence of RTN in the U.S.

A couple of weeks ago, I participated in a roundtable discussion at the Land Surveyors Association of Washington (LSAW) annual conference on the subject of RTK networks (RTN). I always enjoy listening to heavy RTK users on their thoughts, their procedures, and how they arrived at them. We danced around a number of subjects with one being the “RTN’s biggest flaw.” My first thought was the communications link, but…

What can you say about RTK Networks, except wow! They have popped up everywhere and continue on a path of rapid growth. In the last five years, I’d say it’s clear that two GNSS technologies have changed the survey/construction industry more than any others; machine control and RTK networks.