When location accuracy matters
A child gets lost in a crowded park. A senior with dementia wanders off alone. A hiker loses their direction in dense fog, or a lone worker suffers an accident in a remote area. In all these critical moments, rescuers share a single urgent question: ‘Where are they?’
Location is a lifeline
Knowing where someone is can make the difference between inconvenience and tragedy. Today’s satellite-enabled services help answer that question in everyday situations and during emergencies.
Navigation apps, wearables, vehicle telematics and smartwatches operate continuously in the background. Few users stop to think about the satellites making these services possible.
At the heart of many of these applications is the European Global Navigation Satellite System (EGNSS), comprising Galileo and EGNOS, which provides the positioning, navigation and timing capabilities they rely on. Galileo is embedded in billions of compatible devices worldwide.
From active monitoring to passive reassurance
Location technology is moving from something people actively check to something that works in the background. Tags and wearables can monitor people, as well as pets and assets, alerting users when something goes wrong – a shift the EU Space Market Report describes as moving from active monitoring to passive reassurance.
Multi-constellation GNSS is central to this shift. By combining signals from Galileo, the Global Positioning System (GPS) and other constellations, compatible devices can improve positioning accuracy and obtain faster, more reliable location fixes, including in challenging urban areas.
According to the EU Space Market Report, location-based services (LBS) are a major driver of the GNSS downstream market, which will account for almost 80% of the total GNSS market value in 2034. This growth is primarily driven by the increasing popularity of consumer devices such as smartphones and wearables. This growing ecosystem is underpinned by the widespread adoption of Galileo, with more than 4.5 billion Galileo-enabled devices in use worldwide.
As of March 2022, all smartphones placed in the European single market must be capable of using Galileo signals. Smartphones combine satellite positioning with data from local sensors and cloud-based services to deliver real-time location-based experiences.
Galileo supports the European 112 emergency service by improving the accuracy of caller location. That means that when a 112 call is made from a compatible smartphone, Advanced Mobile Location (AML) uses location data derived from the phone’s GNSS capabilities, including Galileo, together with other available sources such as Wi-Fi. This information is then transmitted to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP), where it can be made available to emergency responders.
Galileo at the heart of search and rescue
For people in distress in remote areas, Galileo plays a life-saving role in search and rescue.
Take a hiker who becomes lost in the mountains and activates a personal locator beacon. Galileo satellites equipped with Search and Rescue (SAR) payloads detect the signal and relay it to the ground stations known as MEOLUTs (Medium Earth Orbit Local Terminals).
The MEOLUTs calculate the beacon’s location, and the alert is then routed through the COSPAS-SARSAT system to the relevant search and rescue authorities.
The Galileo Return Link Service (RLS), supported by EUSPA through its operational management and service monitoring, then sends an acknowledgement back to the compatible beacon through the Galileo satellites. This confirms to the person in distress that their alert has been received, their location has been determined, and the relevant authorities have been informed.
By ensuring the operational availability and continuity of these services, EUSPA helps turn orbital signals into trusted lifelines when every minute matters.
About Galileo
Galileo, the EU´s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), provides improved navigation, positioning and timing information. More than 4.5 billion users are already benefiting from Galileo.
The Galileo Programme is owned by the EU. The European Commission, as the Programme Manager, oversees the implementation of all activities. EUSPA is responsible for the operational management of Galileo services, ensuring their availability, continuity and performance, and for the procurement of launch services required for the deployment and replenishment of the constellation. Galileo's system design and system evolution are entrusted by EUSPA to ESA.
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