GPS gets a rival
By: Drivers.com staff
Date: 2002-03-27
The U.S. military-based GPS navigation system will soon have a rival. European Union transport ministers have just signed off on a further E450m (US$396m) funding for Galileo, a 30-satellite navigation system which will rival the GPS (global Positioning System), operated by the U.S. military. While the GPS is free for civilian use, it also has a restricted-access military mode, and the free mode can be turned off for security reasons in times of crisis. Galileo will also have a free access mode and a more accurate encrypted mode which can only be accessed by paying subscribers. However, Galileo will be compatible with the GPS, according to the European Space Agency.
The financial incentives of the Galileo project are significant. The market for global satellite positioning services is predicted to reach $35 billion by 2005. "We have five million users in Europe today and that is set to rise to 250 million in the next 15 years," says Rene Oosterlinck, head of the Navigation Department at the European Space Agency. "You can't rely on one single system belonging to one country." He also warns that military priorities for GPS will always override civilian ones.
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