The government will be making Malta’s two allotted orbital satellite slots available to the market through an international competitive process.

These two orbital slots were allocated to Malta by the International Telecommunication Union following specialised conferences held several years ago to distribute satellite resources to countries in an equitable manner.

The Malta Communications Authority will be publishing an international call for proposals to be submitted for the use of two orbital satellite slots.

The government intends to make these slots available to support both private and public electronic communications services, via a concession agreement and associated license to be managed by the MCA.

The value of each of the slots varies considerably and is dependent on the technology and the potential commercialisation of the services.  It is estimated they can generate around €400,000 (for one slot) and €750,000 (for the other) annually, once the satellites are in operation.

One of the slots can be used for satellite broadcasting services, while the other is for other types of telecommunications services, such as telephony and data.

Economic Growth Parliamentary Secretary José Herrera said that through this international competitive process Malta was making history in its communications sector. “For the first time Malta will be seeking parties interested in exploiting space assets through commercial activities that can benefit the Maltese Islands and place Malta on the global satellite transmission map,” Dr Herrera said.

Dr Herrera said that this call aimed to attract experienced international players to Malta to support the provision of high-quality commercial satellite services based on next-generation technology.

Such major projects would serve to aid knowledge transfer in new sectors and provide new opportunities for business growth.