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Accurate positioning is what puts the smart into smartphones. Without it, your rideshare drives right past you, your food delivery ends up next door and your date is left thinking they’ve been stood up. 

In other words, without accurate positioning, your smartphone can leave you looking rather dumb.

The good news is that pretty much all smartphones come equipped with a satellite navigation chip, which automatically calculates where your phone is and provides this information to your location-based apps. The bad news is that not all chips are created equal. 

“Your phone determines its position by accessing the GNSS signals that come from satellites,” explains EUSPA Chief Operating Officer, Pascal Claudel. “The more signals it can access, the more accurate the positioning.”

Gaining access 

So, how can your phone access more signals? 

According to Claudel, the key is to have what is called a multi-constellation chip. “Multi-constellation chips collect data coming from more than one GNSS constellation, such as Galileo and GPS,” he explains. 

The advantage of having a phone equipped with a multi-constellation chip is that location can be calculated using all the available satellites from both the Galileo and GPS constellations, amongst others. This is particularly helpful in urban environments where narrow streets and tall buildings can block satellite signals, rendering many mobile services useless.

“By accessing more satellites, Galileo-enabled devices definitely have an advantage – an advantage that translates into more accurate and reliable positioning for users,” adds Claudel.

Thanks to HAS and OSNMA, Galileo potential is unique 

Looking forward, however, the contribution of Galileo is expected to go way beyond. Being the newest GNSS in the arena, Galileo signal’s features bring many unmatched innovations to its users. Among these, the provision of Galileo HAS (High Accuracy Service) and OSNMA (Open Service – Navigation Message Authentication) is set to be of the highest interest to smartphone users. The recently declared operational Galileo HAS, for example, will provide for accuracy below a few decimetres (<25cm horizontal in nominal conditions of use). Galileo OSNMA, a data authentication function that will be soon freely accessible worldwide, will pave the way towards robust Position, Velocity and Time information (PVT) for the Galileo Open Service users. 

In the upcoming years, once chipset receivers able to make use of those innovations will be integrated into smartphones, users will benefit from both those Galileo services for free. This is expected to fuel a massive development of innovative applications. Within consumer apps, indeed, those new Galileo services will enable innovative solutions and/ or functions. The HAS increased accuracy will have a direct impact on the performance of a wide range of consumer application categories such as Gaming, Healthcare, Robotics, AR and Geo-marketing. Mobile payments and enterprise workforce management and tracking solutions are some of the areas that will benefit from OSNMA. 

Overall, the provision of Galileo HAS and OSNMA is expected to further narrow the distance between consumer and enterprise apps, with professional users across several verticals being able to perform directly in their smartphones activities and tasks once possible only with dedicated devices. The enhanced positioning capabilities provided by Galileo will also further consolidate the role of the smartphone as one of the key devices able to establish a bridge between the digital and the physical worlds in the metaverse and digital twin technologies. 

Find out if your smartphone is Galileo enabled  

EUSPA wants everyone to benefit from the enhanced positioning accuracy and reliability that Galileo provides. That’s why we’ve been working tirelessly to ensure that the world’s leading chip manufacturers include Galileo in their products. We’re also supporting the industry’s development of such chips through our Fundamental Elements funding mechanism.  

As a result of this work, over 3.9 billion Galileo-enabled smartphones have been sold worldwide. You can see if yours is one of them by visiting www.useGalileo.eu.  

There are also a number of apps you can use to check where your positioning data is coming from. For example, the GPSTest application, which can be downloaded for free from Google Play, provides users with real-time information about which satellites are providing positioning data to your phone. If the Galileo satellite on the user screen (indicated by the EU flag) has a ‘U’ next to it, then you know your phone is using Galileo to calculate its position at that very moment. 

Similar applications are available for iOS users such as here.

Accuracy matters more than ever

Considering the plethora of location-based services out there, many of which we use on a daily basis, accuracy matters more than ever. 

“Thanks to the added accuracy that Galileo brings to smartphones everywhere, you can rest assured that your food will come before it goes cold, that your rideshare will actually arrive when and where it’s supposed to, and that you won’t miss a potential match the next time you swipe right,” concludes Claudel. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) has a key role in the Galileo Programme, the EU Global Navigation Satellite System, ensuring the service provision, implementing, supporting the security of the EU Space Programme, and promoting and developing the markets for EU companies. The GSMC, Galileo Security Monitoring Centre, as part of EUSPA, is being responsible for several major tasks including overall management of the system’s security, management of Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS) access, command and control of European GNSS, and provision of PRS and GNSS security expertise and analysis. The GSMC ensures the reliability of the Galileo system, which is crucial for its success. The GSMC has its main location in France, with a backup site located in Spain. This site is essential to provide redundancy for the security of Galileo. The Galileo Security Monitoring Centre (GSMC) delivers services 24/7. 

The procurement concerns the provision of guarding services for the Galileo Security Monitoring Center located in Saint-Germain-en-Laye (France), a critical infrastructure requiring 24/7 guarding services. EUSPA is committed to promoting the widest participation possible by economic operators, in particular start-ups, new entrants, and SMEs. 

The Agency is thus organizing an industry day on 20 February 2023 at 14.30 to present the details of the procurement for “Provision of Guarding Services for the GSMC”. 

Potential participants will have the opportunity to learn more about the mission of the European Union Agency for the Space Programme and the procurement documentation and submission process.

To attend this industry day, please register here.

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).

The European Union is investing more and more in its space infrastructure to ensure the operability of the EU Space Programme and that EU citizens make the most of the services offered. 

2022 had a lot in store for #EUSpace; the addition of two Galileo satellites in orbit; the launch of the EGNOS GEO-4 payload; preparations for two new services the OSNMA, the Galileo HAS and many upgrades to the systems’ ground infrastructures.

Last November, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached an agreement on the new flagship component of the EU Space Programme, IRIS². This multi-orbital constellation will combine the benefits offered by Low Earth (LEO), Geostationary (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites. It is set to provide secure communication services to the EU and its Member States, as well as broadband connectivity for European citizens, private companies and governmental authorities.

EUSPA will continue to take a central role in the implementation of this growing EU Space Programme. Thus, the agency will grow.  To respond to an additional increase of staff in the coming years, the agency headquarters will be then transferred in 2025 to Centrum Nová Palmovka (the New Palmovka building) in Prague 8.

Visualisations of the new building were made available to the public during a press conference which took place today at the agency’s current headquarters.

The new premises will be located just outside the Palmovka metro station, a transportation hub easily accessible to employees as well as visitors via tram, bus and metro. 

More than a staff increase 

The number of critical services and everyday devices that depend on satellite-based data continues to increase. But, with this increase comes new challenges – including cybersecurity. EUSPA has a central role to play in guaranteeing the operational security of the EU Space Programme both in space and on the ground.

The government of the Czech Republic also offered the agency the possibility to use part of the state datacentre in Zeleneč, Prague. The Data Centre will in particular allow the Agency to strengthen its overall resilience.

Read this: EUSPA: the gatekeeper to a secure EU Space Programme

Larger headquarters generate even larger benefits for the host country 

 ‘’Our agency and its staff not only significantly contribute to the local economy of Prague, but also to the country’s economy overall’’ explains EUSPA Executive Director, Rodrigo da Costa.

Each year until the end of 2022, EUSPA’s headquarters boost Czech GDP by€13.4M on average resulting in almost €140Min total in 2022 prices. This amount includes rent for the headquarters, as well as direct and indirect contributions by EUSPA staff to the Czech economy.

What’s more, the agency activates the economy by supporting conference tourism. In 2022 alone, over 4000 visitors from all across the EU travelled to Prague to attend EU Space Week 2022, the Entrepreneurship Day and other workshops. The presence of our agency has also supported the country’s very vibrant start-up ecosystem and has motivated many new entrepreneurs to venture into space. 

 “Since the Agency moved to Prague more than 10 years ago, the importance of space data and services for our citizens and our economy has been growing continuously - and our Agency with it.  The Czech Republic as our hosting country for the seat of the Agency is embracing this growth. The new building and the data centre will provide us with the necessary infrastructure to continue implementing the EU Space Programme,“ declared Rodrigo da Costa, EUSPA Executive Director.

In addition to its Prague headquarters, EUSPA has control and operations centres in France, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Belgium. 

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the EUSPA website (http://www.euspa.europa.eu).