Comments submitted to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) suggest that the Galileo program is finally nearing a decision on commercial use of specifications for its Open Service (OS), but U.S. officials remain concerned that this nation’s equipment manufacturers not be placed at a competitive disadvantage. Meanwhile, Galileo simulators appear to finally be reaching receiver manufacturers, despite the absence of official approval.

Comments submitted to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) suggest that the Galileo program is finally nearing a decision on commercial use of specifications for its Open Service (OS), but U.S. officials remain concerned that this nation’s equipment manufacturers not be placed at a competitive disadvantage. Meanwhile, Galileo simulators appear to finally be reaching receiver manufacturers, despite the absence of official approval.

The information emerged in the course of a public comment process that resulted in a July 15 report to Congress — drafted by the USTR with the assistance of the U.S. Commerce Department’s Office of Space Commercialization — regarding the status of U.S. equipment industry access to the European Community’s GNSS program. Congress had requested the investigation in approving the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009.

At issue is a draft Galileo OS Signal-in-Space Interface Control Document (OS-SIS-ICD) published in May 2006 and intended to support development of Galileo-capable receivers and simulators. A related issue is U.S. industry participation in the competitive procurement process now under way for the Galileo full operational capability (FOC) space and ground infrastructure.

The draft ICD is available for information, standardization, and R&D purposes, but it prohibits the commercial use of the data “until a specific authorization is provided by the publishing authority and/or holder of the association intellectual property rights [IPR],” according to comments submitted to the USTR by the European Commission (EC) Directorate-General for Energy and Transport (DG-TREN). The European Space Agency (ESA) and the GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA, recently renamed the GNSS Agency in an EC communication) own the Galileo ICDs and IPR.

In effect, as the USTR congressional report points our, “This means that a company may use the ICD to develop products and services but cannot sell them until it obtains a license. Furthermore, companies are prohibited from registering or protecting IPR they derive from the ICD without a license from the EC.”

Sources have told Inside GNSS that the EC reportedly distributed a new position paper to the European Community member states last week that proposes to transfer all Galileo OS IPR from ESA and GSA to the EC In turn, the commission would then distribute the ICD free of charge to the world but maintain a licensing process — basically a registration system.

According to a statement on the GSA website, “the planned timeline for the Galileo SIS ICD updates, and the associated publication plan (including Service ICDs), will be provided by early 2009.” The EC’s current timeline for resolving the OS IPR issues now appears to be by the end of this year.

Only two organizations — the EC and the U.S. GPS Industry Council (USGIC) — responded to the April 15 Federal Register notice inviting comments on six questions regarding U.S. equipment manufacturers’ ability to participate in Europe’s GNSS program. The invitation specifically identified three sections — Articles 5, 6, and 8 — of the 2004 Agreement on the Promotion, Provision and Use of Galileo and GPS Satellite-Based Navigation Systems and Related Applications between the European Community (EC) and the United States.

The GPS-Galileo agreement includes provisions that call for a “non-discriminatory approach” with respect to trade in civil satellite navigation and timing-related goods and services, including unrestricted access to GPS and Galileo open service signals and equal access to the information necessary to develop user equipment for commercial purposes. The GPS-Galileo Agreement establishes several bilateral working groups, including a working group on trade and civil applications (“Working Group B”) that addresses the commercialization/competitiveness issues specifically.

Although the USTR request for comment focused primarily on Galileo user equipment and simulators, competitive access of U.S. industry to the Galileo system development also has raised concern. In its comments, the EC noted that U.S. companies are among the suppliers for R&D activities underway during the Galileo in-orbit validation (IOV) phase and “during the procurement of the . . . FOC, we also anticipate possible US suppliers in the supply chains.”

Galileo Simulators: Selling Quietly
On the subject of allowing manufacturers of GNSS simulators developed under the Galileo R&D program to sell equipment to receiver manufacturers, in comments to the USTR, the EC said that “[d]ecisions relative to this area are close to adoption. . . .”

Simulators replicate the signals (including frequency bands and modulation schemes) used by the Galileo satellites, allowing receiver designers to test and validate their equipment. The status of simulator sales is important because is typically takes a GNSS equipment manufacturer 18 to 24 months to develop new, market-ready user equipment.

As the report to Congress states, “The United States first raised the Galileo signal simulator issue during the July 2008 meeting of Working Group B. Upon a request by the EC delegation for more information, the U.S. co-chair sent the EC a letter in August 2008 proposing that, to accelerate worldwide development and acceptance of Galileo user equipment, the EC authorize immediate commercial sales of Galileo Open Service signal simulators. While initial discussions of the proposal were positive, the EC has not provided a formal response to the U.S. proposal.”

In fact, it appears that Galileo-capable simulators have quietly been reaching the market in recent months without benefit of any official authorization.

“We are very pleased to inform you that . . . our member companies have reported that the European manufacturers of GNSS test simulators now are exporting their product with the Galileo Open Service (“OS”) signal capability,” Mike Swiek, USGIC executive secretary, wrote to the USTR. “Member companies also have reported that they have received the Galileo OS signal component for their test simulators.

“This is most welcome progress,” Swiek continued, “and we appreciate the efforts of the European Commission . . . and Galileo authorities to make available access to this essential GNSS test simulation technology. At this time, however, we are unable to locate an official EC statement authorizing the export of fully functional Galileo test simulators.”

According to the USTR, U.S. industry also faces challenges in obtaining information necessary to develop equipment for the other services provided by Galileo: the safety-of-life service, the public regulated service (PRS), and the commercial service (CS). These signals are expected to be functional on the four IOV satellites planned for launch in late 2010/early 2011.
In his comments, Swiek expressed the industry council’s particular concern about “the outstanding need to complete the functionality of these test simulators by adding the capability to test the unpublished Galileo commercially encrypted E6 signal.”

Noting that ESA subcontractors and members of the Galileo consortia have access to the Galileo signals and test simulation to build Galileo receivers to support the development of the Galileo system, Swiek added, “If the EC grants a commercial license to all other user equipment manufacturers at the same time, including the Galileo GNSS simulator manufacturers, this will not provide fair and equivalent access to the commercially encrypted E6 signal to allow user equipment manufacturers to develop and test Galileo products having the same Galileo capability for market introduction in the same timeframe.”

The EC in its comments acknowledged that development of the relevant technical specifications for these other services has lagged behind that of the open service, but reiterated its intention to make such information accessible to manufacturers on a non-discriminatory basis once it is available.

USTR told Congress that, in cooperation with other U.S. agencies, the office will continue to monitor the manner in which the EC releases information for the open service and other Galileo signals “to ensure that U.S. equipment manufacturers are not placed at a competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis European and other equipment manufacturers.” It will also encourage more frequent meetings of Working Group B, “recognizing that it is the primary venue for bilateral discussions on trade and civil applications related to GPS and Galileo.”

With the scheduled launch of the first operational Galileo satellites potentially less than 18 months away, the USTR report concludes, “it is critical that the EC ensures that all parties have equal access to information necessary to design and build Galileo compatible equipment.”

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The European Space Agency (ESA) has appointed Prof. Dr. Günter Hein to serve as Head of Galileo Operations and Evolution with duties in Noordwijk, Netherlands, and Paris, France.

With an initial four-year term beginning December 1, Hein will report directly to René Oosterlinck, ESA’s director of the Galileo program and navigation-related activities (D/GAL).

The European Space Agency (ESA) has appointed Prof. Dr. Günter Hein to serve as Head of Galileo Operations and Evolution with duties in Noordwijk, Netherlands, and Paris, France.

With an initial four-year term beginning December 1, Hein will report directly to René Oosterlinck, ESA’s director of the Galileo program and navigation-related activities (D/GAL).

Nominated for the post by the German government, Hein will share responsibility for the evolution of the Galileo system, the relation and interoperability of Galileo and EGNOS to other GNSSs, preparation of the future operational phase of the Galileo infrastructure, implementation the related “technology actions,” and associated activities.

Hein took up his new responsibilities quickly, joining European Commission representatives on a mission to Beijing to negotiate with the Chinese Technical Working Group on Compass regarding the problem of signals and frequencies of Galileo and the Chinese GNSS system. Among other issues, China is proposing to transmit Compass signals in RF spectra that overlap the Galileo public regulated service (PRS) signals at E6 around 1268 MHz and E1(lower L1) around 1561 MHz.

Hein has been a full professor and director of the Institute of Geodesy and Navigation (IGN) at Germany’s University FAF Munich since 1983. He will take a leave of absence from the university, retaining all the rights as professor. Bernd Eissfeller, formerly IGN’s vice-director and since 2000 a full professor of navigation at the University FAF Munich, is now heading now the institute.

Hein has been a member of the European Commission’s Galileo Signal Task Force and is the organizer of the annual Munich Satellite Navigation Summit. He has also been a contributing editor to Inside GNSS, coordinating the Working Papers column.

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In an April 15 meeting, the Council of the European Space Agency (ESA) has created a Galileo Directorate to accommodate the agency’s newly enhanced role in Europe’s GNSS program.

Acting on recommendations of ESA’s Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain, the council agreed to bring back René Oosterlinck, former head of the Navigation Department, to serve as the director of the Galileo program and navigation-related activities (D/GAL) through the end of 2010.

In an April 15 meeting, the Council of the European Space Agency (ESA) has created a Galileo Directorate to accommodate the agency’s newly enhanced role in Europe’s GNSS program.

Acting on recommendations of ESA’s Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain, the council agreed to bring back René Oosterlinck, former head of the Navigation Department, to serve as the director of the Galileo program and navigation-related activities (D/GAL) through the end of 2010.

The council also selected Didier Faivre for appointment as Galileo director beginning January 1, 2011, for a term of four years. Faivre is currently ESA’s Head of the Navigation Department. The directorate office will be set up by June, according to Giuseppe Viriglio, ESA’s director of telecommunications and navigation.

The creation of a Galileo Directorate reflects the new role that ESA has taken on as the technical lead and procurement agent under the new public procurement plan for Galileo, following abandonment of the public-private partnership (PPP) approach last year.

In addition to implementation of the Galileo Program for the European Commission, the new directorate will focus on other related satellite navigation activities, including the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) that will be integrated into Galileo over the coming years.

A Belgian national, René Oosterlinck joined ESA in 1979 and has served as ESA Director of Legal Affairs and External Relations since June 2005. Before that, he was head of the Navigation Department for more than five years, dealing primarily with Galileo and EGNOS.

Faivre has more than 20 years’ experience in space-related activities, having joined the French Space Agency CNES in 1983. He moved to ESA in 2000 as the head of the coordination office within the Applications Directorate and became head of the Navigation Department in 2006.

In their April 15 action, the ESA council also created directorates for human spaceflight, science and robotic exploration, and telecommunications and integrated applications as part of a wider reorganization.

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That would move an additional €2.4 to €3 billion onto the public tax burden, but it might also represent the quickest route to completion of the GNSS project backed by the European Union (EU) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

A sea change appears to be taking place in Europe’s Galileo program as its political masters prepare to transform the struggling public-private partnership (PPP) into a more traditional institutional program wholly sponsored by the public sector.

That would move an additional €2.4 to €3 billion onto the public tax burden, but it might also represent the quickest route to completion of the GNSS project backed by the European Union (EU) and the European Space Agency (ESA).

The move follows the collapse of negotiations between the European GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA) and an eight-member consortium of private companies that sought a 20-concession to complete and operate Galileo. A European source close to the negotiations confirmed the new directions for the program to Inside GNSS.

At a March 22 session, the EU Transport Council gave the consortium until May 10 to incorporate and get negotiations back on track, at the same time asking its executive arm, the European Commission (EC) — assisted by the GSA and ESA — to come up with alternative options for handling the project.

On May 11, the GSA Administrative Board concluded, “We did not see relevant progress at the level that the Council expected,” according to GSA Executive Director Pedro Pedreira. That assessment and a discussion of alternatives have gone back to the transport ministers.

The officials are expected to re-visit the Galileo situation at a Transport Council meeting in early June. Jacques Barrot, EC vice-president and transport commissioner, is expected to announce the options under consideration by the EC on May 16.

The Alternatives. Reuters UK, citing a draft of an EC report that the news service said it had obtained, identified the preferred option as a public takeover the project now and issuance of a new tender for a private operator once the Galileo space and ground infrastructure is built. Projected completion of the system under that scenario would be the end of 2012.

In that case, ESA would probably act as the prime contractor for the project, extending its role beyond the in-orbit validation (IOV) phase. IOV includes construction of a ground monitoring and control segment and launch of the first four operational Galileo satellites beginning in 2009, as well as three experimental spacecraft, the first of which went into orbit in December 2005. ESA currently is overseeing a billion-euro IOV contract with the European Satellite Navigation Industries (formerly Galileo Industries).

A sizable question mark beside this option is whether ESA, with its background in scientific and research projects, can execute a time-sensitive commercial project with greater consequences for failing to deliver products and services to market as needed.

Another option, according to Reuters, would have the public sector launch 18 satellites and then turn the project over to industry to launch the remaining 12 — delaying completion until a year later. The final option would continue on the present PPP, prospectively delaying a fully operational system until mid-2014 at the earliest.

Since the March 22 ultimatum, the consortium members agreed to incorporate a Galileo Operating Company (GOC) to sign a so-called “head of terms” agreement with the GSA outlining the concession contract. However, consortium members apparently continued to wrangle among themselves, with some aerospace manufacturers speculating that they could do better under a new conventional program contract.

Then, in early May, the consortium apparently sent the commission a letter requesting additional time and incentives to resolve the stand-off.

GIOVE-A Nav Message

Despite the political situation, technical progress on Galileo continues. Early in May, ESA announced that the system’s first experimental satellite, GIOVE-A, had successfully transmitted its first navigation message.

The nav message contains the information needed by user receivers to calculate their position. Prior to reaching this milestone, the satellite had been broadcasting only the data needed for measuring the receiver-to-satellite distance.

The message was created by the navigation signal generator unit on board GIOVE-A, using content prepared by the GIOVE Mission Segment. The nav message was uplinked from the Guildford ground station in England operated by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. and then transmitted from the spacecraft to the users.

The objective of the test was to demonstrate an end-to-end link between the mission segment and user receivers. The navigation message is being generated for demonstration purposes only — no service guarantee is provided.

Copyright 2007 Gibbons Media and Research LLC

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