The European Parliament and the Council adopted on June 30th the joint Decision No 626/2008/EC on the selection and authorisation of systems providing mobile satellite services (MSS). The introduction of new systems providing MSS will contribute to the development of the internal market and enhance competition by increasing the availability of pan-European services and end-to-end connectivity as well as encouraging efficient investment.

With this Decision the Commission and the European Parliament strengthen the objective of facilitating the introduction of innovative satellite communications services, in particular by aggregating demand in remote and rural areas, while stressing the need for pan-European licensing of satellite services and spectrum.

The European Parliament, in its resolution of February 14th 2007 entitled ‘Towards a European Policy on the Radio Spectrum’, emphasised the importance of communications for rural and less developed regions, for which the diffusion of broadband, lower frequency mobile communications and new wireless technologies could provide efficient solutions to achieving universal coverage in the 27 Member States with a view to the sustainable development of all areas.

In this scope, the purpose and objective of this Decision are:

• to facilitate the development of a competitive internal market for mobile satellite services (MSS) across the Community and;
• to ensure gradual coverage in all Member States.

The Decision creates a Community procedure for the common selection of operators of mobile satellite systems that use the 2 GHz frequency band in accordance with Decision 2007/98/EC, comprising radio spectrum from 1 980 to 2 01 MHz for earth to space communications, and from 2 170 to 2 200 MHz for space to Earth communications. It also lays down provisions for the coordinated authorisation by Member States of the selected operators to use the assigned radio spectrum within this band for the operation of mobile satellite systems, as well as the autorisation for operators of complimentary ground components.

In this comparative selection procedure, the Commission shall be assisted by the Communications Committee, and applicants shall be given a fair and non-discriminatory opportunity to participate in a comparative selection procedure, which must be realized under the transparency principle.

The Call for Applications must be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Admissibility requirements for Applicants:

In May, the European Parliament adopted the selection criteria for mobile satellite services operators

• Applicants shall be established in the Community;
• Applications shall identify the amount of radio spectrum requested, which shall be no more than 15 MHz for earth to space and 15 MHz for space to earth in relation to any single applicant;
• Applications shall include a commitment on the part of the applicant that the mobile satellite system proposed shall cover a service area of at least 60 % of the aggregate land area of the Member States, from the time the provision of MSS commences and that SS shall be available in all Member States and to at least 50 % of the population and over at least 60 % of the aggregate land area of each Member State by the time stipulated by the applicant but in any event no later than seven years from the date of publication of the Commission’s decision.

Member States will ensure that the selected applicants to operate MSS as well as complimentary ground components, in accordance with the time frame and the service area to which the selected applicants have committed themselves, and in accordance with national and Community law, have the right to use the specific radio frequency identified by the Commission decision, and the right to operate a mobile datellite system.

Mobile Satellite Services were part of the Agenda of the last Telecom Council, celebrated June 12th in Luxembourg where some relevant issues on the EU telecom Reform were discussed.

The Decision will enter into force on July 5th.

Mobile Satellite Systems and Complementary ground components

Mobile satellite systems are the electronic communications networks and associated facilities capable of providing radio-communications services between a mobile earth station and one or more space stations, or between mobile earth stations by means of one or more space stations, or between a mobile earth station and one or more complementary ground components used at fixe locations. Such a system shall include at least one space station.

Complementary ground components of mobile satellite systems shall mean ground-based stations used at fixed locations, in order to improve the availability of MSS in geographical areas within the footprint of the system’s satellite(s), where communications with one or more space stations cannot be ensured with the required quality.