GAO Report puts 2010-13 performance of GPS in doubt - real?

GAO Report on GPS says reliability of 24 sv constellation will fall
below promised service levels starting fall of 2010 and wont recover
for 2-3 years when new satellites come on line. See page 25 figure 4.
Will likely stay above 18 sv. Is the GAO being alarmist, or is this
likely, and what can be done by civil users to mitigate it.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/41708


Layer 8
by Michael Cooney
Ubiquitous GPS coverage could soon get spotty
By Layer 8 on Fri, 05/08/09 - 1:39pm.
Global Positioning Systems have become ubiquitous, with support for
the satellite-based system in everything from cell phones to cars.
The system too has become a vital part of day-to-day activities from
coordinating Coast Guard rescues and 911 calls to scheduling
intercontinental flights. But don't take it for granted too long as
its ubiquity might go away in the next few years.

That's because the US Air Force, which is responsible for the GPS
system, is in the process of modernizing it and may not be able to
upgrade the systems before some degradation of services happens,
according to a report issued this week by the watchdogs at the
Government Accountability Office.

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09325.pdf

In recent years, the Air Force has struggled to successfully build GPS
satellites within cost and schedule goals; it encountered significant
technical problems that still threaten its delivery schedule; and it
struggled with a different contractor. As a result, the current
satellite program has overrun its original cost estimate by about $870
million and the launch of its first satellite has been delayed to
November 2009-almost 3 years late, the GAO said.