U.S., Europe Deadlock Over Satellite
Navigation
U.S. and European
negotiators have failed to break a deadlock over technical
standards for Europe's planned multi-billion-dollar Galileo
satellite navigation system, both sides said on Monday. An
initiative launched by the European Union and the European Space
Agency, Galileo will reportedly ensure complimentary
synchronization with the current GPS system.
The United States has offered to share its satellite know-how if
the Europeans agree to a radio frequency that Washington says would
curb potential interference with what it deems a critical, coded
military signal.
Some Europeans say the U.S.-backed plan would undercut Galileo's
accuracy in the name of defending allied security while in fact
boosting U.S. business interests.
"We agree it would be good that we both use the same frequency,"
said Anthony Gooch, a spokesman in Washington for the European
Commission, which is negotiating on behalf of the 15-nation
European Union.
But in three days of talks that wound up last Friday, the
commission stuck to its preferred option -- known as Binary Offset
Carrier or BOC (1.5, 1.5) -- rather than the U.S. choice known as
BOC 1.1, Gooch said.
"And we hope the U.S. will see the merits of adopting 1.5" for
the civilian signal on its own next generation of GPS satellites",
he said.
Contrary to the U.S. view, the Europeans believe their preferred
signal structure, or modulation, would protect coded military
signals while boosting Galileo's performance, Gooch said.
A U.S. government
official, on the other hand, said the United States had sought to
show the 1.5 signal would degrade U.S. and NATO capability to jam
an enemy's use of GPS signals. At issue is the "M Code," which can
shut enemies out while preserving allied access.
Still, Washington is optimistic a deal may be reached within the
next couple months, said a State Department participant in the
talks who asked not to be named.
Both the United States and the EU want Galileo and GPS -- a
dual-use system to support both civil and military users -- to mesh
as seamlessly as possible for the benefit of users, manufacturers
and service providers.
U.S. policy is to provide civil GPS signals worldwide free of
direct user fees. The EC forecasts that Galileo would spin off more
than 100,000 jobs and generate service and equipment contracts
worth up to 9 billion euros ($11.2 billion) a year, making it the
continent's most lucrative infrastructure project.