A conference on 'Galileo services: chances for business' will be held on 24 and 25 April 2006 in Prague, Czech Republic. The conference will offer high-level presentations on the prospects for developing a market based on GNSS and, in particular, Galileo services.

The provision of satellite signals allowing precise location and navigation information is a real innovative challenge for developing business. In particular, Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) that wish to step into new and sound business - from healthcare to transport logistics and from entertainment to security purposes – may be confronted with questions on the best approach. What is the market, what are the real opportunities, what is the legal framework, what is the procedure for working with the Galileo operator, what public and institutional support is there?

It is therefore important to provide a clear picture of the setting within which commercial applications and services could be developed for Galileo.

The conference will address the regulatory framework and economical foundations necessary to allow private down-stream projects leading to the development of a market based on Galileo applications.

Specifically, the conference will:

• illustrate the potential of Galileo for services and applications with concrete pilot projects, such as those supported by ESA and the European Commission 6th Framework Programme
• discuss market opportunities, success factors and risks for Galileo business
• discuss the importance of public actors, and in particular of national and European programmes, to enable the development of commercial services and applications
• provide directions to industry for developing commercial services and applications

Furthermore, the conference will stress the key role that the new EU member states have to play in Galileo as co-owners of the system. It will therefore play a part in preparing the ground and keeping them informed of all the developments in the European GNSS programmes (Galileo and EGNOS), as well as the market opportunities that the systems will offer to their industries.

Finally, the conference will foster the development of partnerships throughout Europe and beyond, which will be a key factor in the success of Galileo.