Positioning services and high-precision timing are increasingly critical elements of a well-functioning society. Emergency and police operations, for example, depend on accurate position information. The Public Regulated Service (PRS), which is protected against interference, jamming and spoofing, aims to provide secure and reliable, high-availability position and timing information to public authorities and operators critical for the security of supply.
Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom manages the Public Regulated Service (PRS) provided by the Galileo global navigation satellite system in Finland. The service is intended for public authorities, including emergency and security authorities, as well as companies critical for the security of supply—even during crisis situations.
Finland aims to start using the service in 2027.
SATELLITE NAVIGATION IS PRONE TO INTERFERENCE
Jamming means intentional radio transmission that masks the signal of the navigation satellites in the navigation receiver.
Spoofing means transmission of counterfeit positioning and timing signals that causes the navigation receiver to compute erroneous position or timing information. In such case the user believes to be elsewere than he or she actually is, or it may cause a system using timing signals to operate incorrectly.
The Galileo PRS signal occupies a wide bandwidth, offers increased signal power compared to open navigation signals, and is encrypted, which means that it is more resistant to jamming and spoofing than open navigation signals.
PRS is part of the society's preparedness
Authorities must be able to guarantee the safety and security of citizens in all circumstances. The basic idea of PRS is to support European public security and emergency services, internal security and the official operations in tasks where the continuity of satellite navigation services is especially critical. By using PRS, authorities can strengthen the strategic and critical systems of the society, such as systems for data and energy transfer as well as financial systems, even in crisis and emergency situations.
PRS is based on Decision 1104/2011/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom is the competent PRS authority in Finland as provided in the Act on Electronic Communications Services. The National Cyber Security Centre NCSC-FI is responsible for the PRS duties at Traficom.
Traficom's role as the competent PRS authority includes
- promoting the introduction of the PRS in Finland;
- ensuring that Finnish authorities and businesses can receive position and timing signals emitted by European navigation satellites without interference;
- providing authorised users with the keys necessary for interpreting encrypted signals;
- setting the conditions for Finnish businesses to manufacture PRS equipment and applications;
- supervising, e.g., compliance of the operations and fulfilment of the minimum standards set for information security of PRS receivers and PRS technology in the research, development and manufacturing phases.
In addition to public authorities, other users may also apply for an authorisation to use PRS in the future. In Finland, such applications are submitted to Traficom.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Finnish competent PRS authority
email: prs@traficom.fi