EU Plans Global Positioning Alternative

Not wanting to rely on the U.S. military-operated global positioning system (GPS) any longer, the European Union plans to implement its own civilian-run system of positioning satellites called Galileo. The EU system will have 30 orbiting space vehicles which are projected to be more accurate than the 24 orbiters of GPS.

Galileo is due to be operational by 2011 at a cost of $4.8 billion. The EU is currently seeking comments by opening a four-month consultation period on possible uses of the system. Or so they say. Frankly, I suspect the EU is looking for reasons to convince people of the need for the new system while trolling for prospective users of Galileo to pony up some funding for the project.

Support from China has already been garnered. Two-hundred million euros have been invested in a Galileo training and application research center at Southeast University in Nanjing, China. Unfortunately, Chinese partnerships in foreign technology ventures customarily fade when they learn to do it themselves. Since China has its own satellites to work with, continued funding for the European project is uncertain.

From the viewpoint of some observers, Galileo appears to be a project motivated by politics and pride as opposed to the preferred selling points of economics and need. Strategic independence has been cited as a strong basis for a non-U.S. controlled navigation system since America has already shown that one GPS location can be disabled while allowing others to run. Friends and enemies alike were not at all amused upon learning that tidbit of information.

Nevertheless, the real question regarding Galileo is whether it is achievable to operate an exorbitantly expensive satellite system as a commercial venture. The EU is looking for an affirmative answer to the question. My take? Galileo will require the massive infusion of taxpayer-derived funds and accompanying governmental presence. In other words, as a privately-run system, Galileo won't.