Brussels, 26/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - A third EGNOS service is up and running, allowing access via internet to all EGNOS satellite data. On 26 July, the Commission presented the European Data Access Service (EDAS), warmly welcomed by Antoni Tajani, the European commissioner responsible for industry and entrepreneurship, who said: “With EDAS, we have a reliable performance level which can in turn support the creation of new and innovative products and thus help to overcome the current economic crisis”.
The new commercial service will allow access to satellite data even when the signal is weak or unavailable, as is the case when there is signal obstruction in urban areas. GPS information, corrected or rendered more precise by the European EGNOS system, will be available via the internet via hand-held devices, or using wireless communication from added value service providers. The new service makes satellite navigation more accurate and reliable. It is the Commission's hope that new services will be derived from this, to be used in numerous sectors such as agriculture (for high precision fertiliser spraying) or in transport (for automatic road-tolling, fleet management, inland waterway navigation, dangerous goods transportation). The Commission hopes innovation will be boosted with the new system allowing new products and services and, as the European commissioner points out: “So much of our day-to-day private and business lives are dependent on satellite navigation technology”. Also, this third EGNOS services is dear to the commissioner's heart as it “once again proves the European Commission's commitment to delivering improved services to the EU's businesses and citizens”. (MD/transl.jl)