Today, the Galileo programme, which is the first satellite positioning and navigation system specifically for civil purposes, was included in the EEA Agreement. The fully deployed Galileo system will, by 2013, consist of 30 satellites and will offer services with outstanding performance in accuracy, continuity and availability. This represents an important milestone for the EU and the EEA. The system will be more advanced, efficient and reliable than the current GPS (the U.S. Global Positioning System).
The programme is an enormous industrial project and the cost of deploying the system is approximately 3.4 billion. The market for equipment and services are estimated to approximately EUR 200 billion per annum by 2013. Participation in these programmes will create great opportunities and positive spin-offs for the industry in the EFTA states and also for the level of innovation and development.
Its profitable applications will spread into many areas of all our lives from safe and efficient transport in every domain (aviation, maritime, road, rail and even pedestrian) to crisis and emergency management, as well as applications in various commercial sectors (precision farming, security of online financial transactions, optimal transfer of electricity along power lines, tourism, etc.).