back to article Galileos 11 and 12 live for your (imminent) navigating pleasure

The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced that for your future metre-level accuracy navigating pleasure, satellites Galileo 11 and 12 are now fully operational and "broadcasting working navigation signals". The pair launched from Kourou, French Guiana, last December. Since then, the onboard navigation kit has been …

  1. Yag
    Mushroom

    Bien.

    Tout se déroule comme prévu.

    (omelette du fromage picture related)

  2. Charlie Clark Silver badge

    Sounds good

    I guess we'll see Galileo compatibility appearing in consumer kit from next year of the year after. But initially the early adopters will be commercial seeking to take advantage of Galileo's higher spatial resolution, especially altitude.

    Anyone happen to know the expected lifetime of the existing GPS/Glonass satellites?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    gps and glonass satellite lifetimes

    https://www.glonass-iac.ru/en/GLONASS/

    http://www.gps.gov/systems/gps/space/

  4. ad47uk

    Bad enough with the U.S GPS being able to track us, worse with Europe system.

    GPS is switch off on my phone and tablet and will stay off. When I buy a new phone in the nxt five years, and it go the European system on it that will be disabled as well.

    1. MotionCompensation

      Tracking?

      Neither system tracks you. They can't, you're just a passive receiver of signals, from which your device calculates its position. Your device does not send anything to those satellites.

      The tracking starts when your device sends that calculated position to Google, Apple etc. And they track you without GPS, knowing which WiFi access points and GSM towers are within range tells them all they need to know.

      Switch off mobile data and WiFi if you don't want to be tracked.

      1. ad47uk

        Re: Tracking?

        GPS makes it easier, I know they use Wifi acess points and GSM towers.

        location is switched off on my phone, not sure if it makes a difference to be honest.

        Next phone will be a normal phone with no smart functions.

        1. Martin Summers Silver badge

          Re: Tracking?

          I hate to break it to you but your none smart phone will be able to track you just as easily. Unless you're doing something of particular interest to law enforcement (in which case ditch the phone entirely!) then really you are just inconveniencing yourself.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Terminator

            Re: Tracking?

            >I hate to break it to you but your none smart phone will be able to track you just as easily.

            He could randomly randomise its IMEI... That'd quickly correct his quaint view of his right to privacy...

            >Unless you're doing something of particular interest to law enforcement...

          2. John Robson Silver badge

            Re: Tracking?

            @Martin Summers - you are just inconveniencing yourself.

            Or liberating yourself from the 24/7 email/contact drudgery that people seem to assume nowadays...

            Says the man who uses a feature phone - and a 4G tablet... D'Oh.

            Personally I think the tablet does it's job better than a stupidly oversized phone could, and I'd rather my phone had a week or more of battery life...

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Tracking?

        If you are that worried about tracking don't carry a phone at all, the network will be able to track you to an area it HAS to know where you are on the network to be able to route calls to/from your phone.

    2. ian 22
      Big Brother

      Fold your tinfoil hat such in stealth shapes avoiding track.

    3. cd / && rm -rf *
      Black Helicopters

      You need one of these...

      http://zapatopi.NET/afdb/

      You're welcome.

    4. StephenTompsett

      Tracking...

      If you don't want to be tracked, why are you using a phone? It's a transmitter, as soon as you switch it on 'they' know where you are!

      If you don't want to be tracked, you shouldn't be using ANY electronic device, but then you may still be visible from the hole you leave as you move around.

      If you want to be paranoid: It probably wont be long before anyone who doesn't appear to be carrying a switched on phone is regarded as suspicious.

      1. ad47uk

        Re: Tracking...

        Not paranoid, but why make it easy for them?

        i don't live in the U.S, we do have some privacy at the moment anyway.

        1. ian 22

          Re: Tracking...

          You think you have privacy? Of course they would want you to think that....

  5. anthonyhegedus Silver badge

    Don't forget to turn off your mobile completely. "they" track everything

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