Business Chances in Satellite Navigation

The European GNSS Agency (GSA), in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport, organised the 'European GNSS Opportunities' workshop on 27 March 2013 at GSA’s headquarters in Prague, Czech Republic. Officials from GSA explained the possibilities of business activities in the field of the satellite navigation.

About seventy representatives from the business community, research institutes and universities were informed about the support and opportunities available under the various instruments of the European Commission’s research and development programmes. Carlo des Dorides, GSA executive director, stated the development of the downstream market for GNSS applications is crucial. The GNSS core markets – road, LBS, agriculture, surveying, aviation and maritime – will continue to grow rapidly for the next ten years, he said.

Galileo has made a lot of progress in the past months. On 13 March engineers have been able to determine a position relying only on the signals emitted from the four satellites of the European satellite navigation system. This achievement is a milestone towards offering initial satellite navigation services from 2014 onwards. Once fully deployed, Galileo will enable a wide range of new applications, including innovative personal services such as in-car navigation, high precision farming, transportation, emergency intervention and civil protection, with a signal enabling higher precision. Currently, the European Commission proposed a budget of nearly EUR7 billion for the period 2014-2020 to ensure the completion of the deployment of the infrastructure and the exploitation of the systems.

At the workshop industry representatives also presented examples of successful engagement in FP7 with SMEs including the results of specific projects. Czech Deputy Minister of Transport Jiří Žák said he highly appreciates that the European GNSS Agency is working to engage Czech businessmen in the EU’s space programmes. The workshop was an important part of this effort.

The event also included the opening ceremony of Czech round of the international 'European Satellite Navigation Competition 2013'. The competition is open for companies, businessmen, as well as research institutes, universities and individuals. It is possible to submit projects (services, products or business innovations) that use satellite navigation in everyday life. Submission is possible from 1 April to 30 June 2013 through ESNC website. The main regional partner of this competition is BIC - R&D. This company sponsors the Czech Republic's regional prizes, provides consulting services to the region's winners, and promotes the competition at the regional level.