FCC to Let US Phones Access Galileo for Improved Positioning
Nov 15, 2018, 11:34 AM by Eric M. Zeman
The FCC today cleared the way for U.S. consumers and businesses to use the European Union's Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), known as Galileo. Galileo is available globally. Today's action means devices in the U.S. now have permission to access select Galileo signals to improve location accuracy. Devices that gather information from both Galileo and the U.S. GPS system will improve the availability, reliability, and resiliency of positioning, navigation, and timing services across the country. The Order approved access to two Galileo frequencies, E1 (1559-1591 MHz) and E5 (1164-1219 MHz), both of which fall in the Radionavigation Satellite Service (RNSS) frequency bands. Many of today's smartphones already include support for GNSS/Galileo. It's not clear how quickly the Order will go into effect, nor is it clear if U.S. consumers will need to install new software or perform some other action to access the EU's satellites.
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