Legislative amendments approved relating to the introduction of the public regulated service of the satellite navigation system

The Act on Electronic Communication Services and the Act on the Transport and Communications Agency have been amended. The President of the Republic approved the amending Acts on 20 December 2022. They will enter into force on 1 January 2023.

Under the legislative amendments, it will be possible to introduce the public regulated service (PRS) of the Galileo satellite navigation system at national level in Finland at the end of 2025, at the earliest.

In the EU Member States, the Galileo PRS provides the nationally authorised public administration users and the operators involved in society's critical infrastructure with continuous location and time data that is technically and operationally secure. In Finland, such users include the police, the Finnish Border Guard, the Customs, rescue services, the Defence Forces and the energy, telecommunications, banking, transport and logistics sectors. The service will ensure that society's vital functions that depend on time and location data will continue without disruptions in all circumstances.

The Acts lay down provisions on the authority responsible for the Galileo PRS and its tasks, the provision and use of the service, and the manufacturing and export control of the technology related to the service. Suomen Erillisverkot Group will be given the right to act as a provider of the Galileo PRS. The Defence Forces can provide the equivalent service for the needs of national defence.

The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency will be given more extensive powers to conduct inspections of the satellite service provider, users and technology manufacturers as well as of the Defence Forces when they provide the service to meet national defence needs.

Galileo is a global satellite navigation system of the European Union and the only satellite navigation system in the control of civilian authorities. Once completed, it would work in parallel with other systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the United States. The Galileo system is funded and controlled by the EU Member States. From the Member States' perspective, even in crisis situations the use of the system does not involve any unpredictable uncertainties with respect to security or trade policy.

Increase in the information society fee

The Transport and Communications Agency is acquiring a location data service, in which information on the physical infrastructure of the existing networks and on the locations of cables, pipes and similar active networks will be collected in the future according to the Act on the Joint Construction and Joint Use of Network Infrastructure.

Under the amendment to the Act on Electronic Communication Services, the information society fee will be raised. The increase will cover the annual operating and maintenance costs incurred for the Transport and Communications Agency for the location data service.

Inquiries:

Suvi Kankare, Senior Specialist (Galileo PRS), tel. +358 295 342 105, [email protected]

Pirjo Karttunen, Senior Officer (information society fee), tel. +358 295 342 605, [email protected]