According to a report published May 7 by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the system of global positioning satellites that tells your smart phone where the latest Starbucks is and helps you find your way home when you’re lost in the wilderness might start to fail as early as next year.

Bobbie Johnson wrote an article for the Guardian about the problem, which stems not from some sort of espionage or some kind of massive technical glitch, but rather because, well, the satellites are old and expensive to replace. If they fail outright, the system might undergo service problems or a complete blackout.

GPS is maintained by the U.S. Air Force, which has a vested interest in keeping it running. After all, smart bombs aren’t nearly as smart when they’re not GPS-guided. Nonetheless, the GAO report said that mismanagement and lack of funding are problems. The GAO is spending nearly $2 billion on upgrading the GPS, Johnson’s article said.