The technology that underlies GPS is being developed in a number of new, emerging international satellite navigation systems. Governments are particularly interested in developing their own systems for both commercial and proprietary uses with priority access to orbiting satellites. Currently, there are four major international satellite positioning systems under development, led by India, China, EU and Russia. Along with advances in GPS technology, these new systems will expand global commercial development of tracking systems.
The most well established international satellite technology under development is the EU’s Galileo project. Led by the ESA (European Space Agency), the project will complete its development phrase by 2013 after the Union took over control from a private consortium of European companies. Among the advances provided with Galileo will be improved tracking accuracy, especially in the European region, with an aim of providing pinpoint accuracy throughout the European area as the EU expands to new member nations.
China is currently testing a limited navigation system known as Beidou with 4 satellites. Named after the Mandarin name for the Big Dipper, Beidou is unique in that it utilises a geostationary, rather than an Earth, orbit path. This allows the system to operate with a smaller set of satellites than Earth-orbiting systems. The second generation of the technology plans a series of independent satellites, known as Compass, which will increase the number of satellites in orbit to 35 by the conclusion of the project, surpassing the number from the original GPS system.
Began during the Cold War-era Soviet Union in 1976, Russia has been developing the GLONASS satellite system led by its military space arm. As the 2nd oldest navigation technology, the system became delayed with the decline of the Russian economy in the wake of government transition in the 1990s. Recently, the program has been restored, and it expected to be fully operational by 2009 with an initial focus on military use and applications.
As a rapidly growing economy, India has been developing the Regional Navigational Sat elite System (IRNSS) with an anticipated completion date of 2013. The first satellites were launched in 2006, and, like China’s system, utilizes a geosynchronous orbit with an aim of providing regional tracking at a high level of accuracy. As the Indian market develops, improvements in mobile technology will utilize the improved regional tracking to incorporate additional next-generation mobile applications.
Global development of multiple satellite tracking technologies will enable a broader array of international commercial applications as the market for GPS expands. Although military and government uses have spurred the development, as they did with the original American development of GPS, several agreements have been reached to allow for civilian use of the devices for the next generation of 4G mobile platforms. With a global reach and improved accuracy, by the arrival of Wimax navigation devices should be able to compute positioning and interchange information on an international level.