EGNOS Service Provider Regroups for Operation

EGNOS Service Provider Regroups for Operation
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May 28, 2008
GPS World

As the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) nears it=
s date=20
for full certification =E2=80=93 planned for some time in 2009 -- the CEO=
s of the=20
Members of the European Satellite Services Provider (ESSP) met in Rome on=
May 18=20
to agree on the process for incorporation of the new company ESSP Soci=C3=
=A9t=C3=A9 par=20
Actions simplifi=C3=A9e (SAS). This company will be based in Toulouse an=
d=20
established under French Law in the coming weeks in order to become the=20
certified service provider for EGNOS.

By correcting GPS signals through a network of ground elements installed =

throughout Europe and rebroadcasting the corrections via geostationary=20
satellites above the European region, EGNOS gives an accuracy of down to =
2 meters.

EGNOS is now fully deployed and operating provisionally, with several rec=
ent=20
tests successfully conducted. The system has undergone certification for =

safety-of-life applications in preparation for becoming fully operational=
=2E

The current ESSP was set up in 2001 by the Air Navigation Service Provide=
rs=20
(ANSPs) of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) =

Operators and Infrastructure Group (EOIG) investing in the EGNOS programm=
e.

The objective of the ESSP SAS is to become the certified service provider=
for=20
EGNOS by applying for certification from the relevant national authoritie=
s. The=20
ESSP SAS Headquarters will be based in Toulouse and will consist of two u=
nits:=20
the Service Provision unit in Madrid and the Operations unit in Toulouse.=


Negotiations between the European Commission and the EOIG experts have re=
ached a=20
conclusion on the EGNOS Agreement and the Agreement is expected to be ini=
tialled=20
in the coming weeks. The final signature of the Agreement is subject to f=
ormal=20
approvals on both sides. The current General Manager of the ESSP EEIG, D=
irk=20
Werquin, has been appointed as the President for the next phase.

The ESSP EEIG was founded by Aena (Spain), DFS (Germany), DSNA (France), =
ENAV=20
(Italy), NATS (UK), NAV Portugal , skyguide (Switzerland) which are the =
ANSPs=20
of the EOIG group.

EGNOS has particular benefits for air navigation approaches with vertical=
=20
guidance on almost all European airports and for precision RNAV. EGNOS is=
=20
designed as a multimodal system aiming at providing benefits to different=
=20
categories of aeronautical and non-aeronautical users across Europe. More=
than=20
700 million Euros have been invested in EGNOS development and Initial Ope=
rations=20
under the technical supervision of the European Space Agency (ESA).

Several in-flight operational trials have been conducted in Spain, Switze=
rland=20
and France and have confirmed the capability of EGNOS-based approaches to=
be=20
similar to existing precision approaches (Cat I) supported today by conve=
ntional=20
navigation systems, in line with the high standard safety procedures of c=
ivil=20
aviation. This will be of benefit to a large community of users by reduci=
ng=20
cost, increasing safety and introducing extra capacity. Within the gener=
al=20
framework of European GNSS activities, which also encompass the Galileo=20
programme, the European Commission Communication has secured the financin=
g of=20
EGNOS exploitation and development for the period 2008-2013 through publi=
c EU=20
funding. The Commission intends to place a service contract for the EGNOS=
=20
operator for the mentioned period.