Accuracy Matters: spreading the word about the benefits of Galileo

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Published: 
11 June 2019
Three quarters of a billion people with Galileo-enabled smartphones are already benefitting from Galileo’s added accuracy.
Three quarters of a billion people with Galileo-enabled smartphones are already benefitting from Galileo’s added accuracy.

The Galileo - Accuracy Matters campaign has been making an impact. Launched last December to raise awareness about how Galileo is making a real difference in the lives of the almost three quarters of a billion users who have Galileo’s added accuracy in their phones, the campaign has been resonating with the public.

There are almost 750 million Galileo-enabled smartphones already in use, yet people are often unaware of the fact that Galileo is improving the navigation signal that their smartphone receives, providing added accuracy and precision. The Accuracy Matters campaign aims to help change this.

The campaign began with a series of light-hearted videos showcasing everyday situations where ‘Accuracy Matters’ to anyone using location data on their smartphones.

A Europe-wide social media campaign was launched across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in March and April this year. EU Member States were targeted with messages in 24 languages, with a total of almost 60 million impressions – which refers to the number of times the ad is shown to viewers. The response to the campaign has been impressive.

In total, the Accuracy Matters videos have been viewed over 2.5 million times, generating almost 250,000 link clicks, over 95,000 likes and almost 11,000 shares and retweets. Video ads on YouTube, launched only last week in 10 countries, have already generated almost half a million views, with a view rate almost double the average, at 25.4%. The online campaign was complemented by outdoor ads, which were placed in airports and on public transport in various locations across Europe.

Galileo saving lives

The campaign’s second phase, launched recently, took a more serious tone – highlighting how Galileo’s added accuracy makes a real difference in an emergency. The three videos in this series show how having Galileo in your phone helps emergency responders quickly find you to administer first aid, whether you have had a health emergency in a strange city, or just had a fall while jogging in the forest.

Watch these: Accuracy Matters when saving lives

Timed to coincide with the run-up to the European Parliament elections, the second phase of the campaign was an important reminder to Europeans that the Galileo programme is a real EU success story that would not have been possible for any single Member State to accomplish alone. The programme is already providing benefits to the 750 million people with Galileo-enabled phones in terms of added accuracy, while contributing to space-related economic growth and job creation in Europe.

Read this: New Regulation mandates Galileo capability for all smartphones sold in the EU

These benefits are particularly felt in the area of emergency response. Most calls to the 112 emergency number in Europe are placed from mobile phones. Reflecting the value of Galileo’s added accuracy, last December the European Commission published a Delegated Regulation setting out measures to introduce GNSS capability, particularly Galileo capability, in smartphones placed on the European Union market from 17 March 2022.

Unsure about whether your phone is Galileo-enabled?  You can check out all the devices that are already Galileo-enabled here: UseGalileo.eu

Media note: This feature can be republished without charge provided the European GNSS Agency (GSA) is acknowledged as the source at the top or the bottom of the story. You must request permission before you use any of the photographs on the site. If you republish, we would be grateful if you could link back to the GSA website (http://www.gsa.europa.eu).

Updated: Dec 08, 2022