Galileo moves closer to funds approval

European transport ministers are to agree a Eur1.1bn public investment into Galileo, Europe's proposed satellite navigation system.

Approval by the Council of Transport Ministers on 9 December will pave the way for the creation of a European equivalent to the US global positioning system (GPS).

Computing has also learned that one of the three privately run consortia bidding to set up and run Galileo has withdrawn from the tendering process, while NATS - which runs the UK?s air traffic control systems - has joined another consortium.

The Eutelsat consortium, including UK IT consultancy LogicaCMG, has withdrawn from the tender after deciding it couldn't meet the exact terms of the bid set out by the Galileo Joint Undertaking (GJU) - the EC and European Space Agency joint venture heading the initiative.

The two remaining consortia - iNavSat, including Inmarsat Venture, Thales, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, and NATS; and the Eurely consortium including Alcatel and Vinci Concessions - remain and are expected to provide two-thirds of investment for the deployment stage.

'We are now in the second negotiation stage that will be mainly based on financial investment,' a spokesman for the GJU told Computing. 'We hope to make a decision by the end of January.'

The successful consortium will launch more than 25 satellites into an orbit gaining a share of a market estimated at Eur300bn by 2020.