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...even as satellites divide US and Europe

European officials are set to clash with their US counterparts this week during discussions over Europe's plans to develop a satellite network to rival the US-controlled global-positioning system (GPS).

European negotiators have already bowed to US pressure over plans to develop the rival system, in a move that will ensure GPS retains advantages over the European system. The US is now pushing for further concessions, and a deal giving some ground has been prepared to present to the US this week.

Plans to push ahead with an alternative to GPS, the satellite-positioning system controlled by the US military, were finally given the official green light by ministers in Brussels in May.

Known as Galileo, the new constellation of satellites will challenge the US monopoly on satellite-positioning services by providing an alternative system for people with suitable receivers to get an accurate reading on their position and for businesses to track deliveries.

The US claims the European plans pose a threat to its national security.

To prevent enemy forces also benefiting from GPS, US and allied forces tune into a specially encrypted military signal while jamming the second, publicly available GPS signal. The US fears that Galileo, which would offer a free positioning service to everyone, would make such tactics ineffective

The US is also vexed by China's ?160 million (US$276.3 million) investment in the Galileo project.

The US has leaned hard on European officials to abandon the euros 1.1 billion (US$1.3 million) project. While US pressure has not killed off the Galileo project entirely, concessions made by European officials mean it will now be a much weaker rival to GPS than the system they had envisioned.

Galileo will provide two separate services, an "open service" that will give positions accurate to around 6.4km and an encrypted service reserved for government use.

The current deadlock in negotiations concerns Galileo's service that will be available to everyone.

US officials argue that Galileo's transmissions for this open service are also too close to GPS signals used by the US military and are calling for changes so it too can be jammed if necessary.

Moving the signal will lead to an inevitable loss in Galileo's performance, potentially making the service only accurate to within 12.8km.

Sources say European officials are ready to make a deal. European countries are keen to push ahead with Galileo so they are not tied to using GPS. While the US maintains its primary concerns over Galileo are linked to security, others say they do not want the European system to be better than GPS. The US military signal gives an accuracy of around 4.8km at best, compared with Galileo's 1.6km accuracy.
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