Enhancing the Swiss Permanent GPS Network ( AGNES ) for GLONASS

Since 1998 swisstopo has been operating the Automated GPS Network of Switzerland (AGNES) presently consisting of 31 permanent GPS stations and used for different applications such as maintenance of the national reference frame, estimation of zenith total delays for numerical weather prediction, and the commercial real-time positioning service swipos. During 2007, the network will be equipped with GLONASS-capable receivers and antennas. The paper covers the selected approach for the transition, the consequences of the equipment change, as well as tests revealing the benefits and problems to be expected for post-processing and real-time applications.