Associate members representing key GNSS user communities – including the US, Russia, European Union, China, India, and Japan – met at the 3rd meeting of the International Committee on GNSS (ICG-3), a voluntary UN backed association that brings together GNSS and augmentation providers. An appeal for collaborative efforts that would move beyond interoperability to “interchangeability” was made.

U-blox supplying GPSS for Longcheer chinese handsets
Chinese mobile phone designer Longcheer Holdings Ltd will integrate Swiss chip maker u-blox’ single chip UBX-G5010 GPS receiver into a series of handsets. The models built incorporating the device, the G600, G800, and G630 have just become available while the G801 and G900 are expected to begin shipments to the Chinese market later in this quarter. www.u-blox.com

EU developing ‘militarised’ space policy which could trigger ‘arms race’
The European Space Agency is accused of developing technology to dominate the “high ground” of space, including a multimillion pound EU Satellite Centre in Spain. The Transnational Institute, a Dutch think-tank, said: “EU-financed communication and spy satellites are slowly becoming reality and in the long term the inclusion of space-based missile defence and other more offensive uses of space are real options for an increasingly ambitious EU military space policy.” The report said French ambitions for the “militarisation of space” have led to arguments with Britain – particularly over Galileo, the much-delayed European global positioning system. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, who currently holds the Presidency, said in June that space agenda was one of his priorities. Galileo would be vital in any European deployment of the sort of GPS-guided artillery now being used by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan

PIL demands removal of country’s images from Google Earth
Public interest litigation was filed in the Bombay High Court in India, has taken exception to easy access to satellite images of the vital installations in the country through Google Earth. The petition filed by Mumbai-based lawyer Amit Karkhanis has demanded removal of images of the country from Google Earth. The petition is filed against the backdrop of terror attacks in Mumbai. The petition is likely to come up for hearing on December 18.

Coastal navigation upgrade
The UK’s General Lighthouse Authorities (GLAs) have awarded a £4m contract to VT Communications for the upgrade of 14 Differential Global Positioning Service reference stations. The upgrade includes adding the capability to use modernised GPS signals that will be needed for tracking the future satellite navigations systems, Galileo and GLONASS. www.vtplc.com

New GIS software from India
The Space Applications Centre and Scanpoint Geomatics in Ahmedabad have released a new product, IGIS. It has been developed to a requirement from Indian Space research Organisation for a GIS software that could ingest data from its satellites and turn out information products. It contains an integrated image processing engine and a GIS. www.scanpointgeomatics.com

Canalys: EMEA Q3 GPSs phone shipments overtake PNDs
According to Canalys, shipments of PNDs in the Q3 to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa fell to 4.3 million from 4.8 million in Q2, while shipments of GPS-enabled smartphones soared, rising from 4.7 million to 10.4 million. Based on its latest research, the firm estimates that global shipments of PNDs in Q3 2008 rose 14% compared to Q3 2007, with North America and Asia Pacific still seeing considerable volume growth of 49% and 25% respectively. The risk to PND vendors is likely to rise further as the economic situation forces more consumers to take a hard look at their discretionary purchases/ www.canalys.com

EU not boldly funding space ambitions
The European Union wants to become a major player in space projects, EU ministers agreed, amid concerns that member states and industry are unwilling to provide the astronomical costs involved. They agreed on “the need to develop instruments and financial schemes for European space policy,” announced French Research Minister Valerie Pecresse, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency. However a statement issued after the ministerial meeting gave no details on the funding needs or means, highlighting the problem. http://www.spacedaily.com

‘Bhuvan’- India’s answer to Google Earth
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will soon launch ‘Bhuvan’, which will provide online maps based on GIS in line of Google Earth, ISRO chairman, G Madhavan Nair said recently. It is equivalent to the Google Earth, but is going to be much more precise .It will provide the latest information on our natural resources. We are going to provide very accurate maps of the region with the latest picture. The service likely to commence in the coming six months, will be available to the people in appropriate manner. This will provide valuable and updated information to the people. The software and infrastructure necessary for the service is being established. Though most of the information will be online, but precision data will be given to selected users only,” Nair said. http://www.thehindu.com

Kathmandu goes digital with online city-guide
Savant Associates has unveiled mapmandu.com, the first online cityguide of Kathmandu. It uses an interactive mapping engine to facilitate localized search of destinations in Kathmandu on a digitalized map. It provides the users with up-to-date online information and other extensive services on various aspects of city life in Kathmandu. http://www.nepalnews.com