Proceedings of the Workshop - United Nations Office for Outer ...

158 EXPANDING GLOBAL NAVIGATION SERVICESconsideration by the next ordinary Session of theAssembly.”24The International Maritime Organization(IMO) and INMARSATThe International Maritime Organization, as thecounterpart to ICAO, adopts and continuously reviewsthe navigation rules and procedures for GNSS maritimenavigation. For example, IMO requires GNSSequipment on board ships in international carriagebeginning with the year 2000.25The objects of the privatized Inmarsat company,Inmarsat Limited, include the provision and support ofglobal, regional and domestic satellite services,including radiodetermination and radionavigation.International Telecommunication Union (ITU)GNSS satellites communicate with GNSS receivers byuse of radiofrequencies. GNSS signals are rather weak.Radio interference can be a problem. Radio frequenciesused by GPS, GLONASS, and proposed mobilesatellite systems (MSS) are all close to each, otheralthough so far interference does not appear to havebeen a problem. It is a cause of future concern,however. Augmentation of GPS also requires use ofradio frequencies. GNSS use of several radiofrequencies cause manufacturers to build more complexreceivers that can receive multiple frequencies, thusincreasing the price of multiple receivers.Radio frequencies are coordinated within the ITUat World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRC). Inthe year 2000 WRC the ITU will specially focus onradio spectrum allocation to GNSS operations.Unfortunately, the GNSS providers and users have tocompete in ITU with other users of the radio frequencyspectrum. Their main concern is that the mobile satellitesystem (MSS) operators would like to use or share the24 See discussion of maritime standardization at IV below23 Galileo supra n. 4 , at 16; see discussion of standardization atIV belowuse of the GNSS radio spectrum, thus endangering thereliability of the GNSS signals.Only Governments have voting rights in ITU so allGNSS interests, through their governmentrepresentatives to the WRC, are seeking to join forcesto protect the GNSS radio spectrum at the year 2000WRC. An example of such joinder of forces is thecoordination taking place among Europeans in theE uropean C o n ference o f P o sta l andTelecommunications Administrations (CEPT) . Thereis a natural alliance between the Europeans in CEPTwith other states that are concerned with preservingradio frequencies for GNSS. This joinder of interestsincludes the United States which also is anxious topreserve and protect its current GPS frequencies andwill need additional frequencies to meet future needs.26GLONASS has a natural concurrence of interest withthe Europeans if GLONASS and Galileo are joined insome form.European Union (EU), the European SpaceAgency (ESA)and EUROCONTROLIn 1994 the European Commission, EUROCONTROLand the European Space Agency (ESA) agreed on theEuropean Geostationary Navigation Overlay System(EGNOS).27 EGNOS is a multimodal satelliteaugmentation system. It is scheduled to becomeoperational in the year 2002. Furthermore, theEuropean Commission and ESA have proposed anindependent GNSS system called Galileo to beoperational in the year 2008. Galileo would costapproximately $2 billion. The Commission proposedthat the “the system should be global from the start inorder to allow full development of the global market.”28Galileo may be joined with GLONASS if the partiescan reach a satisfactory agreement. In May and June,1999 the ESA governing body decided to proceed with26Galileo supra n. 4, at 2327 Id. at 12. See Larsen, GNSS Augmentation: Legal Issues, 40Coll. on the Law of Outer Space28Id. at 12. See Larsen, GNSS Augmentation: Legal Issues, 40Coll. on the Law of Outer Space