The European Commission confirmed that a new EGNOS (the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) transponder was launched on 10 of July on board an SES satellite from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The aim of the new transponder is to replace the one currently aboard an Inmarsat satellite. It will continue to provide higher accuracy positioning signals to both citizens and professionals using an EGNOS-enabled GPS receiver.

In order to upgrade and maintain the EGNOS system, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, the European Commission confirmed that a new EGNOS transponder was launched on board an SES satellite from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. It will replace the one currently aboard an Inmarsat satellite. For the European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship, this new EGNOS launch demonstrates the Commission's commitment to providing positioning signals with the highest possible accuracy to citizens and businesses in Europe.

EGNOS is Europe's first contribution to satellite navigation and is the precursor to Galileo. Europeans already benefit from these improved positioning signals since October 2009. In addition, since March 2011, air carriers with a certified receiver aboard their aircraft can use EGNOS for en-route navigation and precision approaches, enabling safer landings and more energy-efficient flights.

According to the Commission, EGNOS system increases the accuracy of GPS and enables applications requiring higher precision by correcting errors caused by atmospheric disturbance factors. Citizens can profit from better personal GPS navigation provided that they use an EGNOS-enabled receiver (as most of the recent models do).