EU: Proposal for a Digital Networks Act

 

The European Commission has published a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the authorisation procedure for systems providing mobile satellite services (MSS) using the harmonised 2 GHz frequency band, replacing Decision No 626/2008/EC.

Decision No 626/2008/EC established a specific authorisation framework for the 2 GHz MSS band, covering the 1 980–2 010 MHz frequency band for Earth-to-space communications and the 2 170–2 200 MHz band for space-to-Earth communications. Under this framework, the Commission, together with Member States through the Communications Committee, selected operators authorised to provide mobile satellite services at pan-European level, while Member States granted spectrum rights within their territories under harmonised conditions. These rights are due to expire in May 2027, requiring the Union to determine the future use of the band.

Since 2008, major technological and geopolitical developments have significantly increased the strategic importance of the 2 GHz MSS band. In particular, large constellations of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, including multi-orbit systems, are rapidly emerging. These satellite constellations increasingly serve a role comparable to terrestrial mobile towers by enabling hybrid terrestrial-satellite systems and supporting future converged 6G mobile networks.

A key development is satellite Direct-to-Device (D2D) connectivity, which enables connectivity directly to standard mobile phones, tablets, and other consumer devices without requiring hardware modifications. This capability is essential for expanding high-speed internet access, especially in underserved and remote areas. It also strengthens European capacity in critical communications, including emergency response, civil protection, and defence, while enhancing the resilience of communication networks by ensuring connectivity under challenging conditions.

The 2 GHz MSS band is particularly well suited for deploying innovative satellite D2D services. It is globally harmonised for MSS and terrestrial mobile services, making it highly suitable for integration between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks (NTN). Its adjacency to bands allocated to terrestrial mobile services facilitates chipset compatibility and simplifies deployment. In addition, the band offers sufficient spectrum capacity to support not only voice and SMS services but also broadband connectivity. As a result, operators with access to the 2 GHz MSS band can efficiently provide satellite services directly to end users across the Union and integrate these services with terrestrial systems.

Satellite connectivity is also increasingly critical to the EU’s technological sovereignty. Secure, reliable, and ubiquitous satellite communications are becoming indispensable for citizens, businesses, and public authorities. Government actors in particular increasingly rely on satellite-based communication services to maintain secure communications when terrestrial systems are unavailable, disrupted, or unreliable. In such scenarios, satellite networks are essential to preserving operational continuity across the Union.

Against this backdrop, EU intervention is necessary to determine the long-term use of the 2 GHz MSS band. Such intervention should strengthen technological sovereignty and competitiveness in the European space sector by integrating recent advances in satellite connectivity while addressing existing regulatory shortcomings.

The Regulation pursues three main objectives.

First, it establishes common criteria for selecting MSS systems aligned with current EU policy priorities, particularly competitiveness and strategic autonomy. Special emphasis is placed on enabling secure EU satellite systems capable of providing secure governmental communications across the Union. The Regulation also seeks to promote satellite D2D technologies within the emerging space ecosystem, thereby strengthening Europe’s industrial and scientific capabilities, improving connectivity services for end users, and reinforcing strategic autonomy, including resilient supply chains.

Second, the Regulation addresses regulatory fragmentation in the 2 GHz MSS band to enable the rapid deployment of innovative pan-European satellite communication services. It aims to improve efficiency by introducing a Union-level selection process for licensees authorised to deploy pan-European services. This approach is intended to support scale, innovation, fair competition, and secure, reliable connectivity across the EU.

This framework also complements the proposed Union-wide authorisation system for satellite services under the Digital Networks Act (DNA), which envisions granting spectrum rights under harmonised EU conditions across all satellite frequency bands of Union-wide relevance.

Third, to ensure continuity of service during the transition, the Commission may, upon request from current rights holders, extend existing spectrum usage rights for the period necessary to complete the selection procedure under the new Regulation. Any such extension may be subject to specific conditions.