Satellite navigation system Galileo experiences service outage

Europe's satellite-navigation system Galileo has suffered a major outage.

The network has been offline since Friday due to what has been described as a "technical incident related to its ground infrastructure".

The problem means all receivers, such as the latest smartphone models, will not be picking up any useable timing or positional information.

These devices will be relying instead on the data coming from the American Global Positioning System (GPS), BBC reported.

And depending on the sat-nav chip they have installed, cell phones and other devices might also be making connections with the Russian (Glonass) and Chinese (Beidou) networks.

Galileo is a project of the European Union and the European Space Agency. The EU owns the system, and Esa acts as the technical and procurement agent. There are currently 22 operational satellites in orbit, with a further 12 under construction with industry. In addition to the spacecraft, Galileo relies on a complex ground infrastructure to control the network and monitor its performance.