EU Starts Single Licensing System for Pan-European Mobile Satellite Services

The European Commission on Thursday launched a single European selection procedure for providers of communication services via satellite across Europe.

Under the procedure, satellite operators will for the first time be able to offer services such as high speed data, mobile TV, disaster relief and remote medical services across Europe, instead of under the different national systems of the 27 European Union (EU) member states.

Until now, in spite of the clear cross-border dimension of satellite services, existing national rules obstructed the creation of a single EU market for mobile satellite services by leaving the selection of operators to each member state.

The result was a divergence in national approaches that created a patchwork of procedures, legal uncertainty and a substantial competitive disadvantage for the satellite industry in Europe.

To remove these obstacles, the commission proposed in August 2007 that a single selection procedure for mobile satellite services be organized at the EU level. The proposal was adopted by the European Parliament and the EU governments and came into force on July 5 this year.

There is now one market, not 27, in Europe for mobile satellite services. Henceforth, the ball is in the camp of the industry, said EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding.

I expect intense competition among operators offering satellite-based communication services reaching consumers from the north of Sweden to the south of Spain.

Interested companies have until Oct. 7, 2008 to present their applications to the European Commission. The commission expects the selection procedure to be completed in the first part of 2009, with the first satellite launches likely to take place within the same year.

The satellite industry is a 77-billion-euro (119 billion U.S. dollars) market worldwide, growing at 16 percent in 2007. Of this, satellite services alone generated approximately 38 billion euros ( 59 billion U.S. dollars) in global revenue.

European companies represent an important force on this market. The European space industry holds 40 percent of the world market for manufacturing, launching, and operating satellites. Europe is also home to three of the five largest satellite system operators in the world.