(1)

The technical and operational specifications set out in the Annex to Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/224 (2) provide that the general specifications of the commercial service (‘CS’) envisage a CS high accuracy service and a reinforced authentication capacity (‘CS authentication’) accessible subject to a fee ‘depending on the pricing policy in force’.

(2)

Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/224 was amended by Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/321 (3) to offer the CS high accuracy service for free and maximise the public benefits of Galileo.

(3)

No ‘pricing policy’ has been defined or enforced, given that a fee-paying access to CS authentication is expected to slow down the development of the applications required to use that service and hinder the growth of economic activities based on satellite navigation systems, particularly within the Union. It could also hinder penetration of global markets given that other navigation systems have shared plans for developing free signal authentication services.

(4)

At the time being, the core infrastructure required for providing a free authentication service is already in place. However, this is not the case for a fee-based authentication service, which would require an additional infrastructure to be deployed to charge and control the access of the users to the authentication service.

(5)

The fee-based authentication service, as originally conceived, required a ‘Commercial Service Provider’ in charge of managing the authentication service user base, and in addition to the ‘system operating manager’. This ‘Commercial Service Provider’ is not anymore required with the proposed Amendment.

(6)

The fee-based authentication service, as originally conceived, required the use of private cryptographic keys in the end user receiver, while the proposed free authentication service relies only on public cryptographic keys, making its use simpler for the users. This simplification is reflected in the modified technical and operational specifications.

(7)

Article 45(1), point (c) of Regulation (EU) 2021/696 defines a signal authentication service, based on the encrypted codes contained in the signals, intended mainly for satellite navigation applications for professional or commercial use, but does not specify whether or not to apply a fee.

(8)

Lastly, the deployment of the service should be adapted to reflect the system deployment plans, including a signal supply phase from 2024 and a service supply phase from 2026.

(9)

Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/224 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(10)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the programme committee,

(1)

in the row ‘Components of the signals used’, subcolumn ‘Specifications specific to the CS: authentication using encrypted codes’, the text is replaced by the following: ‘E6, E6-C component encrypted (pilot)’;

(2)

in the row ‘Specifications of the user segment’, subcolumn ‘Specifications specific to the CS: authentication using encrypted codes’, the text is replaced by the following: ‘Verification of the authenticity of the signals by decrypting E6 codes re-encrypted with an OS data authentication key’;

(3)

in the row ‘System architecture’, subcolumn ‘Specifications specific to the CS: authentication using encrypted codes’, the text is replaced by the following: ‘Encryption of the E6 signal codes by the Galileo satellites, transmission of the private keys generated by the ground segment to the GNSS Service Centre (GSC), and publication of re-encrypted portions of the E6 signal codes with a future OS data authentication key’;

(4)

in the row ‘Access to the service’, column ‘CS authentication’, the text is replaced by the following: ‘Free access’;

(5)

in the row ‘Deployment of the service’, subcolumn ‘Specifications specific to the CS: authentication using encrypted codes’, the two indents are replaced by the following:

(6)

in the row ‘Use of EU classified information’, subcolumn ‘Specifications specific to the CS: authentication using encrypted codes’, the text is replaced by the following: ‘No use of EUCI by the end user’.