The European Commission says the private sector will be
unable to meet targets to get the
Galileo satellite communications system off
the ground by 2012, and has called for more public cash to be
spent on the project.
The Commission said “the Galileo roadmap needs adapting to meet
the deadline of 2012 by when Galileo should be fully operable. The
public-private partnership set up to implement Galileo needs to be
re-profiled to enable Galileo to be brought into service on
time”.
Jacques Barrot, Commission vice-president for transport, said,
"Europe needs a satellite radio navigation system as part of its
essential infrastructure for crucial applications such as border
control, transport logistics, financial operations and the
surveillance of critical energy and communications
infrastructures.
“The Commission is doing everything it can to guarantee its
success. Galileo will make a major contribution to Community
policies, and embodies Europe's ambitions in space, technology and
innovation,” he said.
The European Galileo satellite radio navigation system will
consist of a constellation of 30 satellites in orbit at an altitude
of 24,000km, offering various services, including an improved
GPS system for transport location systems.
The Commission says the present Galileo roadmap, which provides
for the involvement of the private sector at an early stage, will
not enable the project to be completed within the desired
timeframe, and that this is “likely to lead to considerable extra
costs for the private sector”.
The Commission proposes adapting the roadmap to enable the
timetable and costs to be monitored more closely, and to give the
satellite radio navigation applications and services industries “a
greater sense of security” as to when Galileo signals will actually
become available.
The Commission said the “most beneficial, the most realistic and
the most economic option” will be for all the initial
infrastructure to be put in place while being piloted and financed
by the public sector.
But the operation of the system will be entrusted to a private
concession holder, which will charge third parties for access.
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