Galileo Services

GALILEO
Title	Galileo Services
Edited by	GMV
Level	Basic
Year of Publication	2011

The GALILEO System is an independent, global, European-controlled, satellite-based navigation system that aims at providing a number of guaranteed services to users equipped with Galileo-compatible receivers. The definition of the GALILEO Services is based on a comprehensive review of user needs and market analysis. The Galileo mission and services have been elaborated during the initial definition phase in consultation with user communities and the Member States.

Introduction

There will be some services provided autonomously by Galileo and other services resulting from the combined use of Galileo and other systems. This leads to the classification of the Galileo services into four categories:

1. GALILEO satellite-only services: These services will be provided worldwide and independently from other systems by combining the signals broadcast by the Galileo satellites. There is a wide range of possible applications with different operational requirements that have been grouped around the following five reference services:
   • Galileo Open Service (OS).
   • Galileo Commercial Service (CS).
   • Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS).
   • Galileo Support to Search and Rescue Service (SAR).
2. GALILEO locally assisted services: The Galileo satellite-only services can be enhanced on a local basis through a combination of local elements. The result will be the provision of local services.
3. EGNOS services: EGNOS , the European regional satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS), will provide augmentation information to GPS and Galileo, to improve the performance of those global navigation systems. EGNOS v3 will provide new capabilities to support the augmentation of a second GPS signal (L5) and of the Galileo signals E1-E5. .
4. Galileo combined services: All the above-mentioned services will be combined with services provided by other navigation or communication systems. This possibility will improve the GNSS services availability at user level and open the door to a wide range of applications. The result will be the provision of combined services.

More information related to EGNOS ans Galileo locally assisted services could be found in their related articles in Navipedia.

GALILEO satellite-only services

Galileo Constelation (artistic interpretation)

The following Galileo satellite-only services will be provided worldwide and independently from other systems by combining Galileo signals-in-space:

• Galileo Open Service (OS) results from a combination of open signals, free of user charge, and provides position and timing performance competitive with other GNSS systems;
• Galileo Commercial Service (CS) A service complementing the OS by providing an additional navigation signal and added-value services in a different frequency band. The HAS signal can be encrypted in order to control the access to the Galileo HAS services.
• Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS) provides position and timing to specific users requiring a high continuity of service, with controlled access. Two PRS navigation signals with encrypted ranging codes and data will be available: The Public Regulated Service is restricted to government-authorized users, for sensitive applications which require a high level of service continuity. This service is intended for security and strategic infrastructure (e.g. energy, telecommunications and finance);
• Galileo Support to Search and Rescue Service (SAR) represents the contribution of Europe to the international COSPAS-SARSAT co-operative effort on humanitarian Search and Rescue activities. Galileo is to play an important part of the Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue system (MEOSAR). Galileo satellites will be able to pick up signals from emergency beacons carried on ships, planes or persons and ultimately send these back to national rescue centers. From this, a rescue center can know the precise location of an accident. At least one Galileo satellite will be in view of any point on Earth so near real-time distress alert is possible. In some cases, feedback could be sent back to a beacon, something which is only made possible by Galileo.

The Galileo program has been structured according to three main phases: In-Orbit Validation (IOV), Initial Operational Capability (IOC) and Full Operational Capability (FOC).

For more information about performances of each service, see the article Galileo Performances.