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

EXPANDING GLOBAL NAVIGATION SERVICES 159the Galileo project, and the EU Council of (Transport)Ministers similarly approved Galileo funding. The EUCouncil of Ministers will make the final decision.29 Intime EGNOS would transit into and becomeincorporated into Galileo.National InstitutionsRussiaRussia’s GLONASS system is changing On February18, 1999.30 President Yeltsin decreed that the Russianmilitary would share control over GLONASS withcivilians. The decree creates a joint military-civilianboard to operate GLONASS. Russia is open to thepossibility that the GLONASS may become the basisfor a joint Russian and European Global NavigationSatellite System. Russia would benefit from Europeanfinancial contributions to maintain the GLONASSsystem. President Yeltsin’s decree also opened the doorfor foreign private companies to invest in GLONASS.Independent of the GLONASS satellites, theGLONASS radio frequencies are very valuable. Thepossibility exists that GLONASS could disappear ifoutside funding is not provided. By a financial joinderwith the Europeans GLONASS would become subjectto a joint control.United StatesThere continues to be interest in the institutionaladministration of the U.S. GPS; the European Unionhas recently tried very hard to obtain shared control andmanagement over GPS.31 It is interesting to observe thatthere has been U.S. study of options for shared controland management of GPS. In 1995 the Rand CriticalTechnologies Institute’s study32 identified six optionsfor management and operation; they were:• GPS could continue as a U.S. military system.• GPS could become jointly or exclusivelygoverned by one or more U.S. civilianagencies.• GPS could be privatized and managed by aU.S. entity• GPS could be privatized and internationallymanaged.• GPS could be augm ented bycivil/private/foreign elements (based in spaceor on the earth’s surface)• GPS could gradually be displaced by privatespace systems or other technologiesRand did not consider these options to be mutuallyexclusive. For example a U.S. military GPS could beaugmented by elements from foreign countries, or by aninternational organization. Likewise, a private GPScould be part of an “international venture in relatedspace-based communication services.” Being able tocharge for services would be essential to any privateGPS operation.33 However, the Rand study could notquite visualize how a private operation could collectcharges from non-governmental users except throughsome kind of tax. Thus continuation of the operation ofGPS by the U.S. military appeared to Rand as the mostdependable and feasible.3429 Space News, May 24,1999, at 1. SATELLITE TODAY, 21June, 1999. The EU Commission hopes that EU members willonly have to provide 50% of the funding and that the privatesector will provide the remainder. While the EU decision doesnot constitute final approval of Galileo, it is a step in thatdirection30 Space News, March 18, 1999, at 431 Galileo supra n. 4, at 5. The United States did not agree toshare control of GPS32 The Global Positioning System: Assessing National Policies,1995 Rand Critical Technologies Institute, at 163-16433 Id. at 16434 Id. at 166