Brussels, 02/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - In line with the tripartite agreement between the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Commission and Eurocontrol at the end of the 1990s, the European Commission, on Wednesday 1 April, became the owner of the EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System) infrastructure. Management of the system, destined to become the first pan-European principally air navigation system, has been entrusted to the company ESSP SaS, based in Toulouse and made up of the seven largest air navigation service providers: Aena (Spain), DFS (Germany), DSNA (France), ENAV (Italy), NATS (UK), NAV Portugal and Skyguide (Switzerland). The ESA will retain the role of adjudicating authority and design agent, while Eurocontrol will provide advice for users. EGNOS, which comprises three transponders installed in geostationary satellites and a ground network of about 40 positioning stations (RIMS) throughout Europe and four control centres (MCS), will improve the accuracy of the current GPS civil signals. Accuracy will improve from 10 metres to two metres and the integrated information system will right incorrect information on the position of the user in six seconds. Second only to the American WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System), EGNOS should allow, inter alia, aeroplanes to use GPS during all phases of flight, including approach and landing. Certification of its services for civil aviation, in line with European Single Sky arrangement, will take place at the start of 2010, with the French Civil Aviation Directorate general (DGAC) becoming the programme's supervisory authority. The EGNOS signal covers most European countries and has the built-in capability to be extended to other regions, such as North America, EU neighbouring countries and more generally regions within the coverage of three geostationary satellites being used to transmit the EGNOS signal. The EGNOS signal, which is, at the same time, the precursor of the European satellite radio-navigation system (Galileo) has become available from Wednesday for applications that do not need approval (for example, maritime transport). (A.By./transl.rt)