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| PNT MEDIA ITEMS                                                       |
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| [**www.pnt.gov**](http://www.pnt.gov/)                                |
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October 2, 2007

**EU TO WEIGH FUTURE OF GALILEO SATELLITE NAVIGATION, TECHNOLOGY
INSTITUTE**

[[International Herald
Tribune]{.underline}](http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/01/business/EU-GEN-EU-Technology.php),
October 2, 2007

LUXEMBOURG: The EU nations will debate Tuesday the future of the Galileo
satellite navigation project and a proposed European technology
institute --- two pricey projects on which much prestige hinges but
whose funding remain unclear.

Galileo was envisaged as a rival for the U.S.-run Global Positioning
System and touted as a key high-technology venture for the EU. But it
stalled after a group of eight companies from France, Germany, Spain,
Britain and Italy charged with developing the system disagreed on how to
share the work.

The technology institute is seen by the European Commission, the EU\'s
executive arm, as another project crucial for closing the high-tech gap
with the United States and Japan. But it is plagued by funding
uncertainty.

At an EU telecommunications ministers meeting, Jacques Barrot, the EU
transport commissioner, will defend his plan to make €2.4 billion
(US\$3.3 billion) available from the EU budget to rescue Galileo and
another €308 million (US\$427 million) to launch the technology
institute.

Barrot proposes to use unspent EU agricultural and administrative funds
for Galileo after private money evaporated when the consortium charged
with developing the system failed to make headway with the project.

\"Galileo is a strategic project for the EU. We don\'t want to depend on
the GPS signal, as the United States can step in at any time (and
disconnect satellite signals) for military reasons,\" Barrot told a
European Parliament committee recently.

But Britain, Germany and the Netherlands have reservations about
devoting EU funds to Galileo, the price of which has been put at between
€3.4 billion and €3.6 billion (US\$4.7 billion and US\$5 billion).
German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee fears that a proposed new
tender for companies to work on the satellite system will lead to
renewed infighting among EU member states over who does what, and that
German businesses --- which were represented in the original consortium
--- could lose out. Galileo would comprise 30 satellites, to be launched
by 2013, beaming radio signals to receiving devices on the ground,
helping users pinpoint their locations.

Interoperable with the 24-satellite GPS it would more than double
existing GPS coverage, provide navigation for anybody from motorists to
pilots and improve coverage in northern Europe and in big cities, where
skyscrapers can block signals. Galileo would also be more exact than
GPS, with precision of up to one meter (3.3 feet), compared with five
meters (16.4 feet) with GPS technology.

But only one Galileo satellite has been launched, in December 2005. The
second missed its autumn 2006 launch date after it short-circuited in
final testing.

The proposed European Institute of Technology is similarly hobbled by
money problems. Although the European Parliament gave its preliminary
go-ahead to the project last week, doubts remain about funding for the
institute and where it put it.

The institute, designed to rival the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, is expected to cost some €2.4 billion (US\$3 billion) to set
up. It would consist of a small, central governing body in charge of
finances and research strategy and a number of so-called \"knowledge
communities\" --- research and education centers located around the EU.

The EU executive secured €300 million (US\$375 million) for the startup
phase of the institute, and it has been in touch with major companies
about possible financial contributions. But no private funding has yet
been secured.

EU NATIONS SPLIT ON EU FUNDS TO SAVE GALILEO SATELLITE NAVIGATION
PROJECT

AP, 2 October 2007

LUXEMBOURG\-- The EU nations vowed to push ahead Tuesday with the
development of their Galileo satellite navigation project \-- a rival to
the U.S.-run Global Positioning System \-- but were split on whether to
spend billions of euros (dollars) from the EU budget on it.

At a meeting of EU telecommunications and transport ministers, Britain,
the Netherlands and Germany led opposition to using euro2.4 billion
(US\$3.3 billion) in EU funds to rescue Galileo after private money
dried up when eight companies disagreed on how to share the work.

The financing would come from unspent EU agricultural and administrative
funds.

Mario Lino, Portugal\'s transport minister and the meeting\'s chairman,
acknowledged there are funding differences, but was confident the final
go-ahead for Galileo \-- whose 30 satellites are to be fully operational
by 2013 \-- will come from the EU leaders at a mid-December Brussels
summit.

\"We are on the right track,\" Lino told reporters. The EU ministers
issued a statement reaffirming \"the value of an effective Galileo as a
key project for the European Union.\" Germany was initially opposed to
using the budget of the 27-nation EU and suggested that financing should
come from the 17-nation European Space Agency, which would secure more
business for German firms.

However, Matthias von Randow, a senior German official dealing with
Galileo issues, said Tuesday EU financing was acceptable but urged the
European Commission to \"analyze financial alternatives.\" The
Netherlands and Britain reject using the EU\'s general budget, saying
funding should come from its long-term research and development program.

The European Commission calls Galileo \"a strategic project\" that will
end Europe\'s reliance on the GPS signal which the United States can
disconnect at any moment.

Galileo\'s total cost has been put at between euro3.4 billion and
euro3.6 billion (US\$4.7 billion and US\$5 billion). Of the 30 Galileo
satellites due to be launched by 2013, only one is in orbit, launched in
December 2005.

The second missed its autumn 2006 launch date after it short-circuited
in final testing. EU nations also left unresolved funding for a proposed
European technology institute, a project seen as crucial if Europe is to
close the high-tech gap with the United States and Japan.

Like Galileo, there is no money for the institute, though the European
Commission proposes to make euro308 million (US\$427 million) available
from its budget. The institute, preliminarily approved by the European
Parliament last week, is designed to rival the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, is expected to cost some euro2.4 billion (US\$3 billion)
to set up.

It would consist of a small, central governing body in charge of
finances and research strategy and a number of so-called \"knowledge
communities\" \-- research and education centers located around the EU.

**GPS III PERMANENTLY DISCONTINUES SELECTIVE AVAILABILITY**

[[Government
Technology]{.underline}](http://www.govtech.com/gt/150196?topic=117688),
October 2, 2007

Last month the U.S. DoD announced it intends to stop procuring global
positioning system (GPS) satellites with the capability to intentionally
degrade the accuracy of civil signals.

This capability, known as selective availability (SA), will no longer be
present in the next generation of GPS satellites. Selective availability
was originally designed to enable intentional degradation of signal
accuracy so that enemies could not use it to target missiles during
wartime. According to some sources, the military now has other ways to
deny GPS use that will not disrupt accurate use by civilian aircraft,
emergency vehicles etc.

Although the United States stopped the intentional degradation of GPS
satellite signals by setting SA levels to zero in May 2000, this action
to permanently remove SA eliminates a source of uncertainty in GPS
performance that has been of concern to civil GPS users worldwide for
some time, said the DoD in a release. While this action will not
materially improve the performance of the system, it does reflect the
United States\' strong commitment to users by reinforcing that this
global utility can be counted on to support peaceful civil applications
around the globe.

The decision to remove the capability from the next generation GPS
satellites was approved by President Bush after a recommendation from
DoD. The move coincides with the U.S. Air Force\'s solicitation to
purchase the next generation of GPS satellites known as GPS III.

GPS is a dual-use, satellite-based system that provides accurate
positioning, navigation and timing information to users worldwide.
Originally developed by the Department of Defense as a military system,
GPS has become a global utility. It benefits users around the world in
many different applications, including aviation, road, marine and rail
navigation, telecommunications, emergency response, resource
exploration, mining and construction, financial transactions and many
more.

U.S. GOVERNMENTS ORDERS SATELLITE-BASED VEHICLE TRACKING SYSTEM

1 October 2007

[Satellite Today](javascript:void(0))

Qualcomm Inc. has received a contract from the U.S. Department of
Transportation to provide the United States and Mexico with near a
satellite-based vehicle tracking system, the Transportation Department
announced Sept. 27.

The contract will provide the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration with the location, speed information, trip details, date,
time and mileage of trucks entering and exiting the United States as
part of the cross-border trucking demonstration project. The system will
use a Global Positioning System and wireless technology to monitor the
trucks.

The systems will be installed at no cost to the trucking companies and
is not required on U.S. trucking companies operating solely within the
United States

In May, the Department of Transportation and Mexico\'s Secretaria de
Communicaciones y Transportes agreed to explore satellite technology as
an enforcement tool for the cross-border trucking demonstration project.