Brussels, 17/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - Commissioner for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes has written to 21 member states urging them to implement the legislative framework required for the pan-European deployment of mobile satellite services, as a matter of urgency. This process will allow all Europeans access to broadband, one of the objectives of the digital agenda. The cut-off date for the implementation of these satellite services is May 2011. “Member states should urgently take all measures necessary (…). 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”, Kroes stressed.
So far, only six countries have set in place all the legislative measures required to allow Inmarsat Ventures Limited and Solaris Mobile Limited, the two operators selected in May 2009, to offer mobile satellite services as of May 2011: Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Romania and Sweden. The United Kingdom has partially completed the process. In her letter, which does not yet open any infringement proceedings, Kroes asks the member states which are not yet ready to remove any remaining legal uncertainties, particularly regarding charges, and without delay to implement all application measures to allow the services to be set in place by the end of the year. Readers may remember that the Commission proposed a single selection and authorisation process at EU level for mobile satellite services, to promote the emergence of a single market for mobile satellite services (MSS) and maximise its potential, to benefit consumers and businesses (EUROPE 9902). The measures taken by the member states so far to satisfy the process and their state of progress can be consulted at: http://www.ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/ecomm/current/pan_european/index_en.htm . (I.L./transl.fl)