U.S., Europe Deadlock Over Satellite Navigation  

U.S. and European negotiators have failed to break a deadlock over technical standards for Europe's planned multi-billion-dollar Galileo satellite navigation system, both sides said on Monday. An initiative launched by the European Union and the European Space Agency, Galileo will reportedly ensure complimentary synchronization with the current GPS system.
 
The United States has offered to share its satellite know-how if the Europeans agree to a radio frequency that Washington says would curb potential interference with what it deems a critical, coded military signal.

Some Europeans say the U.S.-backed plan would undercut Galileo's accuracy in the name of defending allied security while in fact boosting U.S. business interests.

"We agree it would be good that we both use the same frequency," said Anthony Gooch, a spokesman in Washington for the European Commission, which is negotiating on behalf of the 15-nation European Union.

But in three days of talks that wound up last Friday, the commission stuck to its preferred option -- known as Binary Offset Carrier or BOC (1.5, 1.5) -- rather than the U.S. choice known as BOC 1.1, Gooch said.

"And we hope the U.S. will see the merits of adopting 1.5" for the civilian signal on its own next generation of GPS satellites", he said.

Contrary to the U.S. view, the Europeans believe their preferred signal structure, or modulation, would protect coded military signals while boosting Galileo's performance, Gooch said.

A U.S. government official, on the other hand, said the United States had sought to show the 1.5 signal would degrade U.S. and NATO capability to jam an enemy's use of GPS signals. At issue is the "M Code," which can shut enemies out while preserving allied access.

Still, Washington is optimistic a deal may be reached within the next couple months, said a State Department participant in the talks who asked not to be named.

Both the United States and the EU want Galileo and GPS -- a dual-use system to support both civil and military users -- to mesh as seamlessly as possible for the benefit of users, manufacturers and service providers.

U.S. policy is to provide civil GPS signals worldwide free of direct user fees. The EC forecasts that Galileo would spin off more than 100,000 jobs and generate service and equipment contracts worth up to 9 billion euros ($11.2 billion) a year, making it the continent's most lucrative infrastructure project.

FMI: www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport/galileo