| Author (Person) | Carstens, Karen |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.10, No.7, 26.2.04 |
| Publication Date | 26/02/2004 |
| Content Type | News |
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By Karen Carstens Date: 26/02/04 THE European Union and the US have struck an accord resolving key sticking points in a transatlantic dispute over rival satellite navigation systems. EU and US officials gave yesterday (25 February) the multi-billion-euro Galileo satellite navigation network the green light, two years after Brussels first indicated it wanted something to rival America's existing Global Positioning System (GPS). One key EU concession after two days of talks in Brussels was acceptance of the GPS 'free signal'. During previous negotiations earlier this month in Washington, the European Commission was still sticking to its preferred option - known as Binary Offset Carrier, or BOC, 1.5 - rather than the US choice, BOC 1.1. But the EU executive has now opted to use the latter for Galileo's free signal. American officials insisted their signal was better for curbing potential interference with GPS' own military signal. "We agreed that this was a much more accurate and interesting system," said Gilles Gantelet, spokesman for transport and energy chief Loyola de Palacio. The EU, meanwhile, was glad that "the Americans agreed to renounce a veto right on the future development of signals" which the US had been pushing for, he said. This means that "the EU is free to develop future signals" for Galileo as it sees fit, without having to check with Washington first. Another crucial US concession was that "they cannot decide to jam our system", he added. There is a bewildering array of signals involved in each network. GPS currently has two, a civilian channel (the 'free signal') known as C/A and a military one, Y-channel. Plans for an additional military channel, M-code, are in the works. Galileo, meanwhile, will debut with five different signals: one freely available to all; a more precise commercial service; a 'safety-of-life' service that can be used for critical applications such as automatically landing airplanes; a 'public regulated service' (PRS) which will be used by the EU's governments and their armed forces; and a unique service that combines positioning information with a distress beacon, which could be used by ships at sea or mountaineers. Previous talks had resolved a conflict between America's M-Code and the European PRS, but left open the issue of how to harmonize Galileo's free signal with M-Code. Gantelet said another US concession was that the EU's PRS signal would have "a confidential character", putting it on an equal footing with its US counterpart. Both the US and the EU want Galileo and GPS to mesh as seamlessly as possible for the benefit of users, manufacturers and service providers. Yesterday's pact could uncork vast private-sector investments in the so-called open service of the planned 30-satellite Galileo system, due to begin operations in 2008. US policy is to provide civil GPS signals worldwide free of direct-user fees. |
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| Source Link | Link to Main Source http://www.european-voice.com/ |
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| Subject Categories | Culture, Education and Research, Mobility and Transport |
| Countries / Regions | United States |
