The 56th meeting of project team 44 (PT44) on satellite communications of WG FM was held last 8-10 January at the offices of Viasat Antenna Systems in Lausanne, Switzerland, attended by 28 participants from 11 administrations as well as several representatives from industry and the European Communications Office (ECO).
Various issues were considered at the meeting, with the following agenda points standing out:
- Draft revision of Decision ECC/DEC(15)04 on non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) for Earth stations on mobile platforms (ESOMP) in the Ka band;
- Draft ECC report on operations via satellite for machine-to-machine/internet of things (M2M/IOT);
- Satellite systems of mobile satellite service (MSS) operating below 1 GHz;
- Future satellite monitoring needs.
The proposals to modify Decision ECC/DEC(15)04 on NGSO ESOMP operating in the Ka band were thus discussed with a view to allowing such stations to also operate on board aircraft. The revised ECC decision was approved and will be submitted to WG FM for adoption and subsequent forwarding to the ECC for approval and submission to public consultation.
Also finalised was the discussion of results from the public consultation on the draft new ECC report on operations via satellite for M2M/IOT. The revised ECC report was approved and will be submitted to WG FM for final approval and publication.
Also noteworthy was the discussion regarding the procedure for approving new MSS satellite systems operating below 1 GHZ, in accordance with Decision ERC/DEC(99)06.
Finally, in the scope of the ECC request, future satellite monitoring needs were notably discussed. This question is directly associated to the need to maintain the current status of the memorandum of understanding (SAT-MoU), as well as the financing model of the Leeheim station.
The next meeting of WG FM PT44 is scheduled to take place this 31 March to 2 April at the offices of SES in Luxembourg.
