The second meeting of the group established by the Communications Committee (COCOM) to conduct a comparative analysis of the process for selecting pan-European mobile satellite service (MSS) systems in the 2 GHz frequency bands was held last 17 February at the European Commission's offices in Brussels.
The meeting had two main purposes: to present the report from the experts group on evaluation of the systems admitted to the first phase of the selection process, and to ascertain the various European Union member States' position vis-à-vis that report.
The experts group concluded that two satellite systems satisfactorily complied with the first phase selection requirements, while two satellite systems did not satisfactorily comply with the selection requirements and were consequently declassified. Spectrum shortage was not identified, given that each of the selected systems required 2x15 MHz, for a total of 2x30 MHz; there is consequently no need to proceed to the second phase of the selection process, i.e., the selection process will be completed in the first phase. The report was endorsed and the results will be presented to COCOM. A decision will later be drawn up, which once approved by the Committee will be submitted to the European Parliament.
