Malta urged to introduce mobile satellite services
The European Commission is insisting with the Maltese authorities to put in place without further delay legislation which will enable the island to introduce Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) as from May.
According to the Commission, despite the May 2011 deadline, 21 member states, including Malta, have not yet put in place the legislative measures necessary to allow the pan-EU deployment of mobile satellite services that could be used for high-speed internet, mobile television and radio or emergency communications to EU consumers and businesses.
According to the timetable agreed by a Decision of the European Parliament and the EU's Council of Ministers in 2008, MSS should be deployed in all EU member states by May 2011 at the latest. But, more than twenty months after the Commission selected two operators to provide such pan-European services, the majority of EU member states, including the UK, France and Germany, have not yet adopted all the national rules needed to facilitate MSS deployment.
Commission Vice-President Nellie Kroes has now sent a letter to all the member states concerned urging them to remove remaining legal uncertainties, such as licence fees, and to put in place all necessary implementation measures without further delay.
“Member states should urgently take all measures necessary to allow the introduction of mobile satellite services throughout the EU. Mobile satellite services have an important role to play in providing innovative services to businesses and citizens across Europe, including in rural or remote areas, and in meeting our Digital Agenda targets of making broadband available to everyone in Europe,” she said.
In 2008, the EU approved legislation to create a single selection and authorisation process for mobile satellite services at EU level to facilitate the emergence of a Single Market for mobile satellite services and maximise its potential, to the benefit of consumers and businesses. As part of this process, in 2009 the Commission selected Inmarsat Ventures Limited and Solaris Mobile Limited as the pan-EU mobile satellite service operators.
A mobile satellite service (MSS) is a service provided by a satellite system which communicates with portable terminals on the ground, which can be carried by a person or mounted on a ship or car. Such systems allow high-speed communication throughout Europe between satellites and, for instance, handheld mobile terminals comparable to smart mobile phones or portable computers.
Mobile satellite services themselves can range from high-speed internet access to mobile television or radio, and public protection and disaster relief. Another well-known example is portable satellite telephones that allow phone calls to be made and received anywhere in the world.
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Lina Caruana
Feb 17th 2011, 15:35
@P. Larsen
I have replied by saying what the basic difference is . If that is the debate there is no confusion about it because no challenge will change my position as a Catholic who believes in the teaching of Christ that the indissolubility of marriage is a fundamental issue of Catholicism . Furthermore what happened before Christ's coming on earth only has relevance in the ways He instituted His Church lasting for thousands of years. I will not lecture about my Religion as a Catholic but I do not think that anyone has a right to challenge me about what I believe ,and remember that going into beliefs is often unreasonable because reason and belief are different levels of being .Besides one has to live by beliefs when called to do so e.g. either by belief in Catholicism or in Scepticism, or divorce if it has come to be a belief . Can it be comparable? What Christ also taught us is that ultimately God is the only judge, but raising our conscience against culpable ignorance has a different personal significance for everyone. I cannot say that I have never learnt .
Joseph Grech
Feb 17th 2011, 14:05
What surprises me, as an E.U. citizen, is the fact that, according to the facts as described in the article, the European Commission has already ''selected two operators to provide such pan-European services. Readers are told that Inmarsat Ventures Limited and Solaris Mobile Limited were the lucky companies chosen ''as the pan-EU mobile satellite service operators.''
Was the selection process above board? Can the E.U. Commission really do such things?
Can the Commission really go about bullying Malta, Germany, France, U.K. and other countries the way it is evidently doing? If this venture should have started years ago - and perhaps was stalled somewhere, is it fair that NOW there is this sudden rush to get things done overnight? Is this the way the E.U. should function Ms. Kroes?
Commission Vice-President Nellie Kroes certainly seems to be much involved in the Digital Agenda targets of the E.U. That's well and good. But bullying E.U. countries is hardly the right way to go about things.
Readers, myself included, are disappointed by Ms. Kroes's heavy-handedness in this issue.. Hopefully she will respond.
K J Vella
Feb 17th 2011, 15:34
Count me out of your representation. It is about time that the EU take the necessary action to break down the local monopoly on digital services. I for one do not want to pay astronomical figures for my communication needs.
L. Smith
Feb 17th 2011, 15:44
Can the E.U. Commission really do such things?
When your overlords tell you to jump, your only answer should be to ask how high.
P.Bonello
Feb 18th 2011, 00:20
Some people surprise me. If this was agreed by a Decision of the European Parliament and the EU's Council of Ministers in 2008, them whose imposing on whom. Get real man!
Vincent Sammut
Feb 17th 2011, 13:42
Bye bye Melita and Go.
Twannie Chircop
Feb 17th 2011, 13:41
But, more than twenty months after the Commission selected two operators to provide such pan-European services
Why did the Commission select only two service providers?
Why not more?
"Perceived" corruption at the EU level?
John Micallef
Feb 17th 2011, 13:02
Sorry EU, this is not in our 2015 vision. If you need further information, please do feel free to contact Dr Gonzi, As it seems only he know about it.
The rest, what ever it is, that can happen by that date we are saying it's in this vission.
Our MCA this morning woked us up shouting that my dreambox is illegal, while up to last week, it was discovered that our service providers were getting paid to air channels they are not suppose to ait. But it seems we closed an eye on that.