Originally developed by the U.S. Department of Defense as a Cold War targeting tool, GPS is transforming modern day life. When the system first launched, civilian GPS signals had reduced accuracy thanks to intentional signal scrambling by the Pentagon. That limitation was removed in 2000, boosting civilian GPS accuracy from about 100 meters to 10 meters.

Today the Pentagon is announcing it will no longer purchase satellites that include the signal scrambling capability. Although there will be no immediate improvement in GPS signal quality, the Pentagon says the move should re-assure the rest of the world of its strong commitment to the GPS system. The move will impact the next buying round of Satellites, slated to launch in 2013.