The European GNSS Agency (GSA) recently released 2015 GNSS Market Report proves to be a hit.
As part of last month’s Munich Satellite Navigation Summit, the GSA launched the latest edition of its GNSS Market Report. 
The launch event included an overview of both the European GNSS market and the latest trends, along with a panel discussion that included insight from industry experts representing many of the market segments covered by the Report. In the month since its publication, the Report has been downloaded 10,000 times.
Also read: A Glance into the GNSS Crystal Ball
According to GSA Head of Market Development Gian Gherardo Calini, the Market Report is meant to be a go-to-source of information beneficial to the entire GNSS value chain and capable of helping companies improve their market share. “This latest edition of the Market Report serves as a comprehensive source of knowledge and information on the global GNSS market, featuring separate sections on each specific market segment,” he said. New to this edition is the segment of Timing and Synchronization.
According to the Report, there are currently 4 billion GNSS devices on the global market – a number expected to continue to grow both in volume and revenue. The report notes that the Location Based Services (LBS) sector continues to take the lion’s share of the market, followed by road – in line with a general trend of GNSS devices being driven by the mass market.
Also read: GNSS Market Report 2015 – Exciting Times for European GNSS
As to Europe’s share of the GNSS market, European industry currently generates more than a quarter of global GNSS revenues. “Granted, it’s only natural that the US owns the largest market share since they started earlier and have many ‘big’ companies operating in the field,” noted Calini. “But because of Europe’s abundance of SMEs, we have been able to steadily increase our market share.” He went on to say that SMEs play a key role in the European market, noting that seven of the top 10 component manufacturers are European companies.
Industry Insights
Following the Market Report overview, a panel discussion offered unique industry insight from across the Report’s market segments.
Road
- Fast Fact: Policy developments, fast pace of innovation, new applications and commercial advantages from positioning information will further drive market penetration.
Philippe Prats, EMEA Marketing Manager Infotainment, STMicroelectronics, Munich, Germany
“Today, we see several applications in the car based on satellite positioning technology, mainly for navigation, but in the near future this will greatly expand. For instance, the telematics boxes are playing a key role enabling the connected car. Emergency services like eCall, insurance telematics, offering drivers incentives, but also safe driving relying on precise positioning in ADAS systems, will drive the market. Looking at the big picture, the GNSS in the road sector will go far beyond the vehicle and will also include infrastructure, regulations, safety and mobility – which will depend on automotive GNSS technology.”
Maritime
- Fast Fact: GNSS-enabled solutions are increasingly used to monitor the operations of fishing vessels.
Genta Shinohara, GNSS Marketing Manager, Furuno Electric, Hyogo, Japan
“Recently approved EU policy on common fisheries policy that relies on GNSS to monitor overall catch will undoubtedly have an impact on the Asian fishing industry as local governments implement similar GNSS-based systems.”
Aviation
- Fast Fact: Usage of GNSS navigation is rising, particularly for Performance Based Navigation (PBN).
Belarmino Goncalves Paradela, Senior Manager Economic and Operational Activities, European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), Brussels, Belgium
“Having the capability to rely on a multi-constellation system will give the aviation industry an additional layer of protection as we move more and more towards reliance on satellite navigation, and this all allows us to not only be safer and more effective, but also reduce our environmental footprint. Specifically for business aviation, LPV SBAS allows us to have more flexibility, and in particular access to more airports during all weather conditions.”
Agriculture
- Fast Fact: The uptake of precision agriculture in Europe and worldwide will continue to grow, thanks to the benefits provided to farmers in terms of increased productivity.
Klaus-Herbert Rolf, Head of Marketing & Sales, 365FarmNet Group, Berlin, Germany
“GNSS enabled steering systems in farm equipment provide farmers a huge opportunity to save money, so it is a very interesting proposition for our industry. Beside more efficient crop management, other benefits include yield management and the application of chemicals – so GNSS is of great interest to the European farmer and for sustainable agriculture in Europe. ”
Location Based Services
- Fast Fact: The development of successful apps continues to drive the global growth of the smartphone market.
Dr. Frank van Diggelen, Vice President Technology, Broadcom Corporation, Santa Clara, CA, USA
“Years ago the US made it mandatory that all 911 emergency calls made from a mobile phone include location information. The effect of this regulation was that suddenly GNSS capability was put into the hands of millions, which thus drove the development of LBS applications. This shows how big of an impact government regulations can have on our industry and I am confident a similar situation will happen again.”
More Information
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