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One is a state-owned monopoly, financed by taxpayers and free at the point of consumption. The other uses private finance, promotes competition and seeks payment for services rendered. So which is American and which European? Wrong. The commercial model comes from the Europeans. The comparison is between the Global Positioning System (GPS), developed by the U.S., and the incipient Galileo satellite navigation system being built by the European Union (EU). America cannot understand why the Europeans feel the need to re-invent this wheel. But apart from a desire to exercise its sovereign right to maintain its independence of America in such an important strategic area, Europe also has a business case for investing over $3 billion. The aerospace business is often unusual, but the satellite business is even weirder. GPS has become indispensable for soldiers, pilots, hikers, yachtsmen, even bankers, ever since the American Department of Defence started filling the sky with satellites about 25 years ago, in order to improve navigation for fighters, bombers and warships. At the moment, the commercial services based on free access to GPS have revenues estimated at around $12 billion, with no return to the American government.