Galileo is the GNSS or global navigation satellite system that is currently being created by the European Union or EU and the European Space Agency or ESA. One of the aims of Galileo is to provide an indigenous alternative high-precision positioning system upon which European nations can rely, independently from the Russian GLONASS and US GPS systems, in case they were disabled by their operators. The use of basic or low-precision Galileo services will be free and open to everyone. The high-precision capabilities will be available for paying commercial users. Galileo is planned to provide a unique global search and rescue function. Satellites will be equipped with a transponder which will relay distress signals from the user's transmitter, which will then initiate a rescue operation. At the same time, the system is projected to provide a signal to the users, informing them that their situation has been detected and help is on the way. This latter feature is new and is considered a major upgrade compared to the existing GPS and GLONASS navigation systems.
The adventage of Galileo are the contribution of the European space industry to the building of global satellite navigation systems, service provision such as European businesses supplying commercial or public positioning, navigation, or timing services, the European applications industry which depends on service provision to supply the hardware and software needed to exploit satellite signals and businesses using services and applications provided by satellite signals.