The preferred bidder for the Galileo satellite navigation concession is expected to be selected on 1 March by the Galileo Joint Undertaking (GJU) organisation, which is managing the development phase of the project.
In February 2004 GJU selected two teams as bidders for the concession to operate the European satellite constellation. These are iNavsat, led by Inmarsat, Thales and EADS Space; and the Eurely consortium with its leading partners Alcatel, Finmeccanica, Spanish air traffic management body Aena and Spanish satellite operator Hispasat.
The total cost to the public-private partnership of developing and deploying Galileo is estimated by the GJU to be €3.4 billion ($4.3 billion) with a predicted 1.7 billion users worldwide by 2010.
ROB COPPINGER / LONDON
Source: Flight International
