FAQ

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Which Entities and organisations are involved in EGNOS operations and how are they coordinated?
Will EGNOS be discontinued when Galileo enters into operation?
GPS is free of charge to the users. Do I have to pay for Galileo services?
Then, why is it said that users will have to pay for the Galileo service?

This section contains Frequently Asked Questions regarding EGNOS and the ESSP. However, additional FAQs about operational issues can be found on the EGNOS Operations User Support website.

When did EGNOS start and how long will it last?

The first steps of EGNOS occurred in the mid-1990s. The programme has been in its development phase until the initial operations in July 2005. As from 2008, the system will be qualified and will enable the use of Safety of Life services. The duration of the EGNOS Service Provision is foreseen for 20 years, extendable.

How much should I pay for EGNOS? What services are available?

Everyone can buy an EGNOS receiver and navigate with EGNOS without paying; this corresponds to the EGNOS Open Service. However, when the user navigates in safety of life, safety/liability critical applications, then he is required to enter a contractual relationship with the EGNOS Service Provider to ensure that liability issues are covered in the case of an incident or accident. This later is defined as the EGNOS Safety of Life Service.

What is the relationship between ESA and ESSP?

The European Space Agency is in charge of the developments of EGNOS, its baseline but also its upgrades. ESSP is currently under contract with ESA for the Initial Operations Phase.

How do GPS and EGNOS compare?

To this day, EGNOS solely works by enhancing GPS. GPS is a constellation of around 24 satellites whilst EGNOS is a satellite based augmentation system improving the GPS performance by broadcasting error corrections to the users via three geostationary satellites. This means that without a GPS signal, EGNOS can not work. EGNOS improves the accuracy of GPS, as well as providing additional performances to the user such as Integrity.

Can one use EGNOS for navigating a car?

Yes. As EGNOS enhances the performances of GPS, the navigation in cars will improve. In the near future, the Safety of Life services will open up a whole new set of applications to enhance your safety. Check with your supplier to see if EGNOS is used in your units.

Which Entities and organisations are involved in EGNOS operations and how are they coordinated?

EGNOS operations are centralised in the ESSP offices in Brussels. The entities and organisations involved are : - the European Air Navigation Service providers from France, Germany (DFS), Italy (ENAV), Portugal (NAV-EP), Spain (AENA), Switzerland (Skyguide) and the United Kingdom (NATS). - The French Space Agency (CNES), the Norwegian Mapping Authority (NMA) Each organisation hosts different EGNOS Ground Segment elements as further detailed in the Website www.essp.be. There are four Mission Control Centres ( MCCs), one MCC acts as Master meaning that it has full control of the system. There is a second MCC is in hot back up mode( ready to take over from the Master MCC) an the other two in cold back up mode. There is a rotation plan between the MCCs so that the MCC holding the status of master rotates. Through a JOS ( joint operation schedule) agreed on a weekly basis, all EGNOS operations actors ( MCCs, PACF , ASQF, etc) agree on the planning of activities and are well coordinated.

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Will EGNOS be discontinued when Galileo enters into operation?

No, EGNOS service will continue to be provided by the Galileo Concessionaire, along with the Galileo Service. It will be part of the Concession Agreement that initially covers a period of 20 years.

Moreover, EGNOS service is different from, and complementary to, Galileo only service. The basic objectives of these systems are different:

• EGNOS is an augmentation system to the GPS service (not to Galileo), that improves the GPS signal performance in terms of accuracy, integrity and service guarantee. It depends of the GPS service and it is worthless without it.
• Galileo is a GPS-like system, it is the GPS European counterpart. Galileo is a basic Satellite Navigation (GNSS) system that does not depend on the GPS system and is complementary to it.
  

GPS is free of charge to the users. Do I have to pay for Galileo services?

No, Galileo Open Service (similar to the GPS civil service with improved quality and reliability) is free of charge to the users as well.

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Then, why is it said that users will have to pay for the Galileo service?

Besides the Open Service (similar to the civil GPS service and free of charge), Galileo will provide other services that GPS does not offer.

Those additional services offer extra service enhancements over the basic Open Service that can be used by different applications (transport, banks, insurance companies, etc.). The access to use them may be subject to the payment of a fare. The initial additional Galileo-only services foreseen are the following:

• Commercial Service, with Service Guarantee and data transmission capability.
• Safety of Life Service, with Service and Signal Integrity Guarantee.
• Public Regulated Service, when high Continuity of Service is required.