THE European Union has blinked first in its tussle with the US over operating frequencies for its Galileo satellite navigation system. Last Saturday, the EU agreed to make Galileo compatible with its US counterpart, the Global Positioning System (GPS). But uncertainty continues over how Europe will finance the project.
The 30 satellites in Galileo’s fleet were originally planned to operate at frequencies that GPS sets aside for military use. During times of war, the Pentagon can jam civilian GPS frequencies, but it would not have been able to jam Galileo without interfering with the GPS signal used by American troops.…
