Posted: 09th Aug, 2008 By: MarkJ
The European Commission (EC) has begun moves to harmonies the wireless spectrum used by satellite based Internet, disaster relief, TV and phone operators throughout the continent. This would allow easier and cheaper operation of satellite services, especially in developing states:
"Mobile satellite services have the tremendous advantage of being able to cover most of the EU's territory thereby reaching millions of EU citizens across borders," said Viviane Reding, the telecoms commissioners, in Thursday's statement. "They represent an unprecedented opportunity for all Europeans to access new communication services, and this not only in metropolitan areas, but also in rural and less populated regions. However, these satellite services depend on substantial investment and therefore need simple and swift procedures as well as long-term legal certainty."
"I expect intense competition among operators offering satellite-based communication services reaching consumers from the North of Sweden to the South of Spain," Reding added. "This could pave the way for first satellite launches already in the course of 2009."
ZDNet reports that the universal spectrum allocation would be in the 2GHz band, which would include both 1980-2010MHz and 2170-2200MHz for two way communications.