Europe and US clash on satellite system

[Khephra]

European officials are set to clash with their US counterparts this week during discussions over Europe's plans to develop a satellite network to rival the US-controlled global positioning system (GPS).

European negotiators have already bowed to US pressure over plans to develop the rival system, in a move that will ensure GPS retains advantages over the European system. The US is now pushing for further concessions, and a deal giving some ground has been prepared to present to the US this week, the Guardian has learnt.

Plans to push ahead with a European alternative to GPS, the satellite positioning system controlled by the US military, were finally given the official green light by ministers in Brussels this May.

Known as Galileo, the new constellation of satellites will challenge the US monopoly on satellite positioning services by providing an alternative system for people with suitable receivers to get an accurate reading on their position and for businesses to track deliveries and vehicles.

more..............

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1102165,00.html

[rjbcar27]

1. Oh for a politician to stand up and say "Fuck off America."

Space is not owned by the US and I think we in Europe are fully entitled to have a GPS system of our own and it should be completely independant of the US system. Furthermore, the US should not be allowed to jam it unilaterally.

This gets my goat up.

[papau]

2. Accurate to within 8 miles! the USA really wants competition!

"Like GPS, Galileo will provide two separate positioning services, an "open service" that will give positions accurate to around four miles and an encrypted service called the public restricted service (PRS) which is reserved for government use.

Some countries had argued that Galileo's PRS transmissions should be so similar to the American military GPS signal that the US would be unable to jam the European version without jamming its own signal. Last month, however, European officials agreed to change the signal, meaning the US will be able to jam Galileo without interfering with their own signal.

The current deadlock in negotiations concerns Galileo's service that will be available to everyone. Officials in the US argue that Galileo's transmissions for this open service are also too close to GPS signals used by the US military and are calling for changes so it too can be jammed if necessary.

Moving the signal will lead to an inevitable loss in Galileo's performance, potentially making the service only accurate to within eight miles."

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Surely the Guardian must have confused its units

an accuracy of 4 miles, let alone 8, would be useful to neither man nor beast.
Perhaps soemthing said '4m' and '8m', and they thought it meant miles, not metres?

[ze_dscherman]

4. Meters, not Miles

You're right about this. Galileo is meant to be precise within 4 meters range. Anyhow, this is not really news, but was already reported end of November.

The higher accuracy of the Galileo system and it's independence from U.S. jamming were the main reasons for developing it. Lots of money already spent for nothing but a kow-tow to U.S. supremacy.