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Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleThe Royal Institute for Navigation Annual Conference |
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| Good morning. I am delighted to have been invited to make the opening address at this event today. Let me start by thanking Captain Dick Smith for his warm welcome and introduction. I want to congratulate the Royal Institute of Navigation for organising this conference and bringing together so many leading figures in the world of navigation and positioning. Over the years, the Royal Institute of Navigation's 'Nav' conference series has become almost an institution in its own right. It is a nerve centre for all those with an interest in locational navigation. As the participation list of this conference shows, there is real enthusiasm for the job it does. It has set out to bring together both industry and the academic research world in an open forum. Indeed, here today, we have representatives from government, alongside researchers, and those with interests in the satellite, shipping, aerospace and road industries. I am interested because of the European Commission's proposal to develop a European navigation system: Galileo. One of the most important discussions that will be held during this conference will be the critical assessment of various aspects of the Galileo project. This is indeed an appropriate topic, since this issue is currently under intense debate across Europe. The European Space Agency is working with the European Commission on the Galileo project. However, the political decision will ultimately be taken by the EU Transport Council. John Spellar is normally our representative at that meeting. In addition, many of you will be aware that in November, I will be hosting the ESA Ministerial Council in Edinburgh. There, the subject of Galileo will also be on the agenda. Galileo I firmly believe that Galileo, if we can get the project right, has the potential to be a hugely important infrastructure project for Europe, and a key enabling technology for the 21st century. European citizens currently depend on the US, military Global Positioning System [GPS], for an ever-increasing range of services for navigation, location and timing. Galileo is a European system designed purely for civilian use, but let me emphasise that it is not a rival to the US operated GPS. Galileo (of course) partially aims to reduce Europe's dependency on US resources, but it also aims to enhance the value of GPS in Europe. We are aiming to ensure that Galileo will be interoperable with GPS. Having two systems available will extend coverage and back each other up. With GPS, Galileo will provide a constant and guaranteed high level of performance for all civilian users worldwide. Moreover, the improved signal availability through having two satellite constellations, particularly in urban areas, will greatly enhance the services available to users. It will also allow the development of value-added products and services. Potentially, Galileo offers immense benefits. On a social level, citizens would benefit from improved safety, more efficient transport systems and innovative position-led services. For example, the precise determination of a person's location when they make an emergency call from their mobile phone, or to provide information on services in the immediate locality. Commercially, we would benefit from the increased market share in the space and receiver equipment industries, and also from all the new revenue sources for service providers. In addition, scientists will be able to exploit Galileo for positional information for geophysics, environmental science, geology, and archaeology. The list of possible applications is bounded only by imagination. A recent UK study undertaken for DTLR and BNSC which looked at the cost benefit analysis of the Galileo project suggested that the total cumulative economic and social benefits of Galileo for Europe, over the next twenty years, amounted to 74B? compared with a total investment cost of 6B?. If these annual benefits and investments are discounted annually by 5% and totalled over twenty years, the difference between the two figures suggest that 31B? of net benefits are still realisable in today's terms for Europe. These are of course broad figures and will need to be substantiated by the PriceWaterhouseCoopers study which, I understand, has now been presented to the European Commission. However, before we can sign up to this project, there are a number of issues that need resolving with Europe. They are key issues, regarding management, funding arrangements and the crucial involvement of the private sector. I believe that before Ministers can give this project the go ahead, it is essential that we lay the firm foundations. We need an operational system that meets the needs of users, and which provides real benefits to the public in the UK and Europe. This must also be done in the most cost-effective manner, with a sound management structure. We are continuing to exert our influence in Europe to ensure that this will be the case. We are working closely with Partnerships UK. They are developing proposals for an improved management structure for the development and validation phase of the project. They are making progress in discussions with the Commission and ESA. They are also testing the management model to ensure that it is robust. This is vital, since, in the deployment phase, we will move into a Public Private Partnership [PPP] approach with industry. Earlier this year, the UK commissioned work from ESYS Ltd, to help analyse the UK cost benefit case. We need to ensure that the project can get off to a strong start and be viable in the longer term. Private sector investment is important because we believe the Galileo project needs to be user-driven. It mustn't be imposed and funded by governments. The Commission has contracted PricewaterhouseCoopers to examine the business plan for Galileo. Their first results are expected shortly. Many States will base their decision at the Transport Council on the findings of this study. Within the UK, officials from both the BNSC and DTLR are working closely with others in Whitehall. We need to ensure that we are in a position to move forward as soon as the opportunity arises. It is important that we do not allow the outstanding issues to prevent us seeing the vision of Galileo, but rather see the vision as a driving force to resolve the issues as soon as possible. Conclusion I believe passionately that we in the UK have in Galileo a major opportunity. We can use our scientific and technological skills to create wealth and improve the quality of our lives. Conferences such as this one, which serve as a forum for scientific and technical debate, have an important and exciting role to play in achieving this national objective. You lie in an unbroken line of descent of three hundred years from people like Flamsteed, Harrison, and others, who invented new navigational techniques in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and who made it possible for the Ships of the Royal Navy and merchant fleet to voyage more safely and more economically on the high seas, and the subject of your interest has as great a potential as the subject of theirs. We live, now as then, in interesting and exciting times. Now as then, in the marketplace of science and research, government policy has to be guided by the needs of users, the commercial industry and the academic world. This conference addresses that need for collaboration, vital discussion and professional scrutiny. I anticipate that this will be a dynamic and exciting few days and I wish you all the very best for the success of this conference. Thank you. 
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