What is a mobile satellite service?
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.
What are mobile satellite service systems?
Systems providing mobile satellite services use radio spectrum to provide services between a mobile earth station and one or more stations either in space or on the ground at fixed locations. The new technological developments allowing MSS systems to be complemented by ground components are likely to increase their importance as compared to previous mobile satellite systems.
The radio spectrum is divided into "bands", i.e. ranges of frequencies. Systems providing mobile satellite services have been allocated the 2 GHz frequency band throughout the European Union, comprising radio spectrum from 1980 to 2010 MHz for Earth to space communications, and from 2170 to 2200 MHz for space to Earth communications. This allocation has been done by means of a Commission Decision adopted on 14 February 2007