Considerations on COM(2007)480 - Selection and authorisation of systems providing mobile satellite services (MSS) - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2007)480 - Selection and authorisation of systems providing mobile satellite services (MSS). |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2007)480  |
| date | June 30, 2008 |
(2) The European Parliament, in its Resolution 2006/2212 'Towards a European Policy on the Radio Spectrum' of 14 February 2007, emphasised the importance of communications for rural and less developed regions, for which the diffusion of broadband, of lower frequency mobile communications and of new wireless technologies could provide efficient solutions to achieving universal coverage of the 27 EU Member States with a view to the sustainable development of all areas[5]. The European Parliament also noted that Member States' regimes for spectrum allocation and exploitation differ widely and that these differences represent serious obstacles to the achievement of a well-functioning single market.
(3) The Commission, in its Communication of 26 April 2007 on European Space Policy[6], has also established an 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.
(4) Directive 2002/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services (Framework Directive)[7] aims at encouraging efficient use and ensuring effective management of radio frequencies and numbering resources, removing the remaining obstacles to the provision of the relevant networks and services, ensuring that there is no discrimination and encouraging the establishment and development of trans-European networks and the interoperability of pan-European services.
(5) The introduction of new systems providing mobile satellite services (MSS) would 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. MSS constitute an innovative alternative platform for various types of pan-European telecommunications and broadcasting/multicasting services, regardless of the location of end users, such as high-speed internet/intranet access, mobile multimedia and public protection and disaster relief. These services could in particular improve coverage of rural areas in the Community, thus bridging the digital divide in terms of geography, simultaneously contributing to the competitiveness of European information and communication technology industries in line with the objectives of the renewed Lisbon strategy.
(6) Satellite communications, by their very nature, cross national borders and as such are susceptible to international or regional rather than purely national regulation. Pan-European satellite services are an important element of the internal market and could make a substantial contribution to achieving European Union objectives, such as expansion of geographical coverage of broadband in line with the i2010 initiative[8]. New applications of mobile satellite systems will emerge in the coming years.
(7) Commission Decision 2007/98/EC of 14 February 2007 on the harmonised use of radio spectrum in the 2 GHz frequency bands for the implementation of systems providing mobile satellite services[9] provides that Member States shall make these frequency bands available to systems providing mobile satellite services in the Community as of 1 July 2007.
(8) Radio spectrum technical management, as organised by Decision 676/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on a regulatory framework for radio spectrum policy in the European Community (Radio Spectrum Decision)[10] in general and Commission Decision 2007/98/EC in particular, does not cover procedures for assignment of spectrum and granting rights of use for radio frequencies.
(9) With the exception of Article 8 of Directive 2002/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 March 2002 on the authorisation of electronic communications networks and services (Authorisation Directive)[11], operators of mobile satellite systems are selected and authorised at national level under the existing EU regulatory framework for electronic communications.
(10) Regulations of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) provide for procedures for satellite radio frequency coordination as a tool for management of harmful interference, but do not extend to selection or authorisation.
(11) In order to prevent Member States from taking decisions that might lead to fragmentation of the internal market and undermine the objectives identified in Article 8 of the Framework Directive, selection criteria for mobile satellite systems should be harmonised so that the selection process results in availability of the same set of mobile satellite services throughout Europe. High up-front investment required for the development of mobile satellite systems and the associated high technological and financial risks necessitate an economy of scale for such systems in the form of wide pan-European geographic coverage, so that they remain economically viable.
(12) Moreover, the successful launch of such services requires coordination of regulatory action by Member States. Differences in national selection procedures could still create fragmentation of the internal market due to the divergent implementation of selection criteria, including the weighting of the criteria, or different timescales of the selection procedures. This would result in a patchwork of successful applicants selected in contradiction with the pan-European nature of these mobile satellite services. Selection of different mobile satellite operators by different Member States could imply complex harmful interference situations or could even mean that a selected operator is prevented from providing a pan-European service, for instance where different radio frequencies are assigned to the operator in different Member States. Therefore, harmonisation of the selection criteria should be supplemented by the establishment of a common selection mechanism that would provide a coordinated selection outcome for all Member States.
(13) Since authorisation of the selected mobile satellite operators involves attachment of conditions to such authorisations and a broad range of national provisions applicable in the field of electronic communications must thus be taken into account, the authorisation issues should be dealt with by competent national authorities of Member States. However, in order to ensure consistency of authorisation approaches between different Member States, provisions on synchronised assignment of spectrum and on harmonised authorisation conditions should be established at the Community level, without prejudice to specific national conditions compatible with Community law.
(14) Taking into account a comparatively long period of time and complex technical development steps required for the launch of satellite services, progress in the technical and commercial development of mobile satellite systems should be assessed as part of the selection procedure.
(15) Complementary ground components are expected to be used at fixed locations in order to improve the availability of mobile satellite services in zones where communications with one or several space stations cannot be ensured with the required quality. The authorisation of such complementary ground components will therefore mainly rely on conditions related to local circumstances. They should therefore be selected and authorised at national level, subject to conditions established by Community law.
(16) The limited amount of radio spectrum available implies that the number of undertakings that may be selected and authorised is also necessarily limited. However, if the selection process leads to a finding that there is no radio spectrum scarcity, a simplified selection procedure should apply with a number of minimum requirements imposed on the selected mobile satellite operators as conditions attached to authorisations.
(17) While monitoring of the use of radio spectrum by the selected and authorised mobile satellite operators and any required enforcement action is undertaken at national level, it should remain possible for the Commission to define the modalities of a coordinated monitoring and/or enforcement procedure.
(18) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission[12].
(19) Since the objective of the proposed action, namely to establish a common framework for the selection and authorisation of operators of mobile satellite systems, cannot be sufficiently achieved by Member States and can therefore, by reason of the scale and effects of the action, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.