Warning sounded over delay of next-gen satellite navigation in ANZ
Australia and New Zealand could miss out on billions of dollars in productivity gains, and be locked out of coming technology initiatives such as intelligent transport systems, because of inaction on new satellite-based navigation systems. Government departments in both countries are investigating the use of so-called satellite-based augmentation systems – which are being adopted by Europe, the US, Japan and India – but industry experts and groups such as the Space Industry Association of Australia are warning that more immediate action is needed.
SBAS is used to provide greater accuracy and availability of existing GPS signals. While it was originally developed to improve navigation systems within the aviation sector, it now holds promise for use in transport, mining, agriculture and other areas. In the aviation sector alone it could provide SBAS-assisted approaches that are eight times safer than alternatives and save significant revenue on fuel and through more efficient airport operations.
While the benefits of an SBAS system have been well-known for over 10 years, experts suggest that Australia and New Zealand need to act in the next 12-18 months if they want to adopt the technology in the coming decade. They argue that Australia has already missed a significant opportunity to put an SBAS payload on the NBN satellites, while other satellites that are planned will need advance notice if they are to carry a payload.
Independent satellite consultant Jack Scott, who previously headed space systems for Thales Australia, describes the decision not to put an SBAS payload on the NBN satellites back in 2010 as a missed opportunity. “The NBN satellites would have been a perfect platform to host an Australian SBAS payload. It’s unfortunate that we were not able to close the argument in the early days of the NBN satellite development,” he said.
According to Scott, there are a number of satellite operators that could host SBAS for Australia, including the likes of Inmarsat, SES and Intelsat. “There are some replacement plans in the timeframe that we are considering but if we miss these options we could set back SBAS in Australia for a decade or more,” he warned.
Even if an operator is suitable, it will take an estimated five years to do all of the necessary work including procurement, building out ground infrastructure, and certifying systems for safety. Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research director Andrew Dempster told CommsDay that one of the problems was that SBAS “falls between the cracks” in that it covers a number of different sectors – space, aviation and infrastructure among them. “Everyone is pointing at each other and there is no sector or government agency taking responsibility,” Dempster said. “But we need to start planning now as it's a non-trivial task.”
Dempster said that Australian consumers could soon learn about SBAS because it is being included in cars as part of intelligent transport technology. “Imported cars will soon all have SBAS and we will have this moment in Australia when people will question why cars don't have access to the same services that are available in the US, Europe or Japan,” he noted.
Another consumer driver with SBAS is that the GPS chip sets that are being produced now contain the SBAS algorithm and nearly all GPS devices are SBAS devices, according to Scott. “The mass market has adopted SBAS so that our iPhones and Androids are SBAS devices, and other commercial positioning devices are now delivering meter to sub-meter accuracy. These are imbedded in aviation receivers, maritime receivers and automobile receivers,” he explained.
NEW ZEALAND ROLE: According to Dempster, government departments in New Zealand have been showing greater leadership than those in Australia in support for SBAS. However, he said due to the cost of launching the capability it would be best achieved with cooperation from both countries.
Some groups are now renewing the push for an ANZ SBAS system. The SIAA said in a recent whitepaper, co-authored by Dempster and Scott, that the procurement of an Australian SBAS would help to promote and assist the development of a viable commercial space sector and ensure that the interests of the commercial space sector are taken into account by governments. It also pointed to a yet-to-be-published study in New Zealand that showed a benefit to cost ratio of 0.7 for aviation alone. When other systems are taken into account, particularly agriculture and intelligent transport systems, a BCR of well over 1 is expected.
According to Scott, the involvement of NZ as a joint partner will benefit both countries. “Not only would NZ share their portion of the build cost but also share the operational costs. This will result in an SBAS footprint that includes the huge area from NZ North and South Islands to Perth, Darwin and all points between,”Scott said, adding that it would also be possible to expand the ANZ core to nearby Pacific neighbours.
Dempster will present the case for funding SBAS at next week's Australasia Satellite Forum in Sydney 17th & 18th May, with a panel session also following his presentation.
Geoff Long
