Satellite Regulatory Information
This page contains information on:
1 National satellite regulatory information and contact points
The ECO maintains a list of contact points in CEPT administrations concerning satellite related enquiries. It also includes links to the national satellite regulatory regime where available. This information can be downloaded here. Administrations are invited to provide updates to their details when applicable to the ECO (contact details at the bottom of the page).
2 ECC Decisions on Earth Stations in Motion.
In recent years ECC has developed a number of harmonisation Decisions on the exemption from licensing and free circulation of satellite terminals for the use of ‘earth stations in motion’ (ESIM) in order to provide connectivity on board aircraft, ships and vehicles. Exemption from individual licensing in each administration is particularly beneficial to allow service providers to operate across borders.
Note that the term ESIM replaced the older term ESOMPs (Earth Stations On Mobile Platforms) in the ITU context following WRC-15. Some ECC Decisions use this older term as well as separate terms for specific types of ESIM (AES – aircraft earth stations, ESV – earth stations on vessels). The terminology can be considered as interchangeable.
The following figure shows the different types of ESIM (land/sea/air) and the relevant ECC Decisions for both geostationary (GSO) networks and non-geostationary (NGSO) systems.
Figure 1: Overview of relevant ECC Decisions for different categories of ESIM
The relevant ECC Decisions as well as information on the notified ESIM operators and implementation status by CEPT administrations and can be found at the following links:
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ECC/DEC/(05)09
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Earth Stations on board Vessels (ESV) in the frequency bands 5 925-6 425 MHz (Earth-to-space) and 3 700-4 200 MHz (space-to-Earth)
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ECC/DEC/(05)10
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Earth Stations on board Vessels (ESV) in the frequency bands 14-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space), 10.7-11.7 GHz (space-to-Earth) and 12.5-12.75 GHz (space-to-Earth)
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ECC/DEC/(05)11
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Aircraft Earth Stations (AES) in the frequency bands 14-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space), 10.7-11.7GHz (space-to-Earth) and 12.5-12.75 GHz (space-to-Earth)
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ECC/DEC/(18)04
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Land based Earth Stations In-Motion (ESIM) operating with GSO FSS satellite systems in the frequency bands 10.7-12.75 GHz and 14.0-14.5 GHz
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ECC/DEC/(18)05
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Earth Stations In-Motion (ESIM) operating with NGSO FSS satellite systems in the frequency bands 10.7-12.75 GHz and 14.0-14.5 GHz
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ECC/DEC/(19)04
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Earth stations on-board aircraft operating with GSO FSS networks and NGSO FSS systems in the frequency bands 12.75-13.25 GHz (Earth-to-space) and 10.7-12.75 GHz (space-to-Earth)
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ECC/DEC/(13)01
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Earth stations on mobile platforms (ESOMPs) in the frequency bands available for use by uncoordinated FSS Earth stations within the ranges 17.3-20.2 GHz and 27.5-30.0 GHz
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ECC/DEC/(15)04
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Land, Maritime and Aeronautical Earth Stations On Mobile Platforms (ESOMPs) operating with NGSO FSS satellite systems in the frequency ranges 17.3-20.2 GHz, 27.5-29.1 GHz and 29.5-30.0 GHz
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Each Decision outlines the specific conditions ESIM operators need to meet in order to meet the requirements for exemption from individual licensing within CEPT administrations which have implemented these Decisions. In particular operators are required to provide technical details of their system to the ECO. Specific restrictions such as pfd limits exist in some frequency bands for the protection of other space and terrestrial applications.
ECC/DEC/(13)01 was updated in July 2021 in order to address the results of WRC-19 agenda item 1.5 on GSO ESIM in 17.7-19.7 GHz and 27.5-29.5 GHz.
ESIM will be considered at the next WRC-23 under agenda items 1.15 and 1.16 to globally harmonise technical conditions for ESIM in the following bands:
- AI 1.15 - GSO 12.75-13.25 GHz (Earth-to-space) for aircraft and vessels
- AI 1.16 - NGSO 17.7-18.6 GHz, 18.8-19.3 GHz, 19.7-20.2 GHz (space-to-Earth) and 27.5-29.1 GHz, 29.5-30 GHz (Earth-to-space)
CEPT preparation for these agenda items will be undertaken in CPG PTB, taking into account the existing ECC framework in these bands.
See here for an overview of the wider ECC regulatory framework for satellite in Ku and Ka Bands (including fixed earth stations as well as ESIM). Full details of the ITU, European and national frequency assignments are available in the EFIS database.
Some additional background information on ESIM is available in this 2016 article.
The following ECC Reports provide the relevant technical studies and regulatory considerations which led to the development of the ECC framework:
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ECC Report 279
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The Use of Earth Stations In-Motion (ESIM) operating to NGSO Satellite Systems in the 10.7-12.75 GHz and 14-14.5 GHz Band (May 2018)
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ECC Report 271
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Compatibility and sharing studies related to NGSO satellite systems operating in the FSS bands 10.7-12.75 GHz (space-to-Earth) and 14-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space) (updated January 2019)
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ECC Report 184
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The Use of Earth Stations on Mobile Platforms Operating with GSO Satellite Networks in the Frequency Range17.3-20.2 GHz and 27.5-30.0 GHz (February 2013)
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3 ECC framework for Satellite IoT/M2M communications
Satellite can provide a wide-area connectivity solution for a range of emerging Internet of Things (IoT)/Machine-to-machine (M2M) applications in sectors such as transport, energy and agriculture.
Advances in technology and in particular the increasing prevalence of low-cost small satellites have shown a recent increase in the number of planned satellite systems in this sector, and thus a greater demand on the availability of spectrum for these systems. ECC Report 305, developed by PT FM44 and published in February 2020 summarises the current regulatory framework and the emerging applications, and concludes on a range of follow-up activities in order to identify additional suitable frequency bands below 5 GHz as well as improvements to the existing regulatory framework in order to maximise sharing between different satellite systems.
ERC Decision (99)05 and ERC Decision (99)06 provide an existing ECC framework for exemption of licensing of narrowband M2M type satellite systems operating in the following frequency bands below 1 GHz:
- 137-138 MHz (space-to-Earth) and 148-150.05 MHz (Earth-to-space);
- 400.15-401 MHz (space-to-Earth) and 399.9-400.05 MHz (Earth-to-space)
Recent renewed interest in these bands has led to a number of operators applying to be included in the framework of ERC Decision (99)06. Several updates were approved between November 2020 and March 2022 accordingly, with 4 new systems now approved for operation in these bands. These updates allow these new operators to operate in CEPT administrations which implement these Decisions without need for individual licensing. PT FM44 is now undertaking a wider review in line with the conclusions of ECC Report 305, in order to simplify and "future proof" the framework.
Further details on this topic are available in an article from the September 2021 edition of the ECC Newsletter.
ECO contact for satellite regulatory related enquiries:
Peter Faris, [email protected],
Tel. +45 33 89 63 07
Updated: 18 April 2023, 09:44
