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Conditions of application
This move introduces a crucial change for operators: instead of going through application procedures in each country, they will take part in only one selection procedure, at European level. This is a major step forward.
In reality, the selection procedure conditions favour the largest players. Operators must make two commitments which could prove unrealistic for smaller companies. The first is that the MSS will cover at least 60 per cent of the aggregate land area of the Member States. Secondly, the MSS must cover at least 50 per cent of the population and at least 60 per cent of the aggregate land area of each Member State by 30 June 2015. A company which only has the ability to operate in a smaller part of the EU will therefore face a significant barrier to entry.
Interested parties must submit applications by 7 October 2008.
The procedure is not without possible hurdles for the largest operators, though. An applicant must be established in the EU (i.e. it must have its registered office, central headquarters or a permanent business establishment there). Further, an applicant may only make one application, acting individually or in a consortium.
Although the Commission considers the new centralised selection procedure will remove the legal uncertainty and competitive disadvantages for operators of having different procedures in each Member State, operators will not escape local regulators completely. While the Commission will assess and select applications to provide MSS at European level, successful applicants will not receive a pan-European licence. Operators will still have to get authorisation in each Member State. While this should be a straightforward process, with local regulators obliged to grant the authorisations necessary, successful operators will still need to deal with and pay licence fees to each Member State regulator. Harmonised authorisation conditions for each Member State should make the outcome more consistent, but this could still be a relatively time-consuming process for operators.
The Commission is keen that the new procedure will help close Europe's digital divide, by opening new areas to receive services that were previously prohibitively expensive. For operators the chance to reach new customers as well as to provide new services (probably in 2009/2010 onwards) creates an opportunity to increase the EUR 38 billion of revenue satellite services generated in 2007.
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