GPS & Galileo: Prospects for Building the Next Generation of Global Navigation Satellite Systems

Glen Gibbons, Jr.

Group Editorial Director and Association Publisher, GPS World, Advanstar Communications, Eugene, Oregon.

DOI:                 

Abstract

In the next 5 to 10 years, the world will experience the emergence of a true Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) — a compatible and, in many respects, interoperable system of systems. The U.S. Global Positioning System, Europe’s Galileo, perhaps Russia’s Glonass system, and regional augmentations including the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS), radiobeacon-based systems such as the U.S. Nationwide Differential GPS, and compatible commercial differential correction services will comprise this multifaceted GNSS. Common signal structures and frequency plans will enable combined user equipment that reduces the technical complexity and cost, while vastly expanding related applications. Additional satellites and signals, both more powerful and with improved designs, will increase the availability of robust signal reception outdoors and strengthen the potential of indoor positioning using only GNSS user equipment. But the path to the future is not without its risks: political, technical, economic, and cultural.

Keywords

GPS, Galileo, interoperability, compatibility, GNSS

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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