The maritime sector was one of the first communities that recognized and exploited the opportunities and advantages provided by GNSS systems. In fact, the introduction of GNSS represented a great revolution in the maritime field.
GNSS positioning has progressively acquired more and more relevance in all ships sailing around the globe. At the beginning, GNSS was only used as a way to know the current position, but today GNSS receivers are connected and integrated with other different functions such as Integrated Bridge Systems, ECDIS, ARPA, GMDSS, AIS, LRIT or VDR.
Currently, it is a fact that GNSS have become the primary means of obtaining Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) information at sea. Most of the ships in the world are equipped with GNSS receivers. And currently these users take advantage of different augmentation systems such as DGNSS or SBAS/EGNOS, as they provide an adequate answer, especially in terms of accuracy and integrity.
To take advantage of this improved accuracy, direct access to EGNOS in vessels can be achieved through EGNOS-enabled navigation receivers and EGNOS-enabled AIS transponders. Therefore, the natural question is: Are those GNSS receivers SBAS (EGNOS) enabled? To get an answer to this question, read the article published in the March edition of the Transnav Journal. A peek preview: In most cases they are; EGNOS is being used.