(14 December 2016) – Tomorrow, Europe’s satellite navigation system Galileo will start offering its initial services to public authorities, businesses and citizens.
Galileo will start to deliver, in conjunction with GPS, the following services free of charge: support to emergency operations; more accurate navigation for citizens; better time synchronisation for critical infrastructures; secure services for public authorities.
The “Declaration of Galileo Initial Services” that will be launched tomorrow means that the Galileo satellites and ground infrastructure are now operationally ready. These signals will be highly accurate but not available all the time. That’s why during the initial phase, the first Galileo signals will be used in combination with other satellite navigation systems, like GPS.
In the coming years, new satellites will be launched to enlarge the Galileo constellation, which will gradually improve Galileo availability worldwide. The constellation is expected to be completed by 2020 when Galileo will reach full operational capacity.