here

That aside, the media happily warble on about the cost of the programme, estimated at $3.8 billion, and the marvellous job opportunities, claimed to be as many as 150,000, so it was a refreshing change to hear, on the BBC Today programme of all places, a dissenting voice.

This was Professor Heinz Wofis, former head of the European manned space programme, who cast doubt on the validity of the project, dismissing it as a "largely political" exercise, reflecting the nascent anti-Americanism of the EU, and arguing that costs had been underestimated. He suggested that the real cost could be as much as five times the headline figure.

Where, of course, the EU plans to make the system work financially is by using its regulatory power. It plans to make the system compulsory for its Single European Sky project, railway signalling systems and for road charging. Irrespective of the fact that an upgraded US system will be provided free of charge, the EU plans to levy users and thereby recover its costs though these means, effectively imposing a user tax on EU member states and their commercial enterprises.

Then there is also the payback in sales of military technology using GPS, which explains why, in particular, French aerospace contractors are so keen on the system, attracting the support of French defence minister Alliot Marie.

In short, European users (and quite possibly foreign airlines that operate in European airspace) will be required to buy Galileo-compatable equipment and pay the associated costs. How much will this equipment cost, and what will be the annual fees? As a comparison point, a Garmin GNS-480 unit is available for about $11,000 installed and costs about $300 a year for database updates. It's a WAAS compatable unit capable of precision approaches into airports with no extra ground equipment like an ILS installation (which can easily cost over a million dollars per runway end, plus annual operations and maintenance costs). The GNS-480 also includes a communications radio and nav receiver, including glide slope.

How much will a similiarly capable Galileo compatible receiver cost, both to buy and to operate, and when will it be available?