LONDON — Mobile TV in Europe delivered via satellites came closer to reality over the weekend following the successful launch of Solaris Mobile's first S-band payload in Kazakhstan.
Dublin, Ireland-based Solaris is a joint venture between SES Astra and Eutelsat that plans to provide mobile video, navigation and emergency assistance services to broadcasters, telco operators, the automotive industry and data communication providers throughout Europe.
One major concern remains for the project in that Solaris, after three years of hard work by its Thales Alenia satellite builders and the establishment of a Dublin sales office, has not as yet received its license to operate.
The European Commission is set to award licenses this month, and possibly this week. The favorites to gain the licenses, the awarding of which has been mired in controversy, includes Solaris Mobile and Inmarsat, the UK-based satellite operator.
If so, the he decision will leave the two US bidders, ICO Global Communications and TerreStar, disappointed.
The European Commission has chosen to pool the S-band licenses from all its member states, and award them in one block. Usually, bands of spectrum are awarded or auctioned on a country-by-country basis.
"The success of today's launch means Solaris Mobile is now poised to deliver a new generation of mobile services for European consumers," said Steve Maine, Solaris Mobile CEO. "With the satellite in orbit, our work begins in earnest. Since Solaris Mobile is the first company to offer a hybrid satellite and terrestrial infrastructure for European mobile services, we are determined to set the standards for mobile communication services, in terms of innovation, quality and service that will set the tone for the rest of the industry."
Services envisaged for the S-band include mobile video broadcasting applications across Europe for a host of mobile devices including phones, PDAs, iPods, games consoles and laptops. The S-band will also be able to support the deployment of mobile interactive applications of particular benefit for the transport and automotive sectors.
The next three or four weeks will also be taken up with testing the so called W2A satellite and placing it into its correct orbital position (at 10 deg East). Commercial services are expected by the end of the year, but could be delayed if the EC delays the licensing procedure.
Solaris has six separate 'footprints' over Europe to aid efficiency and power levels. The primary markets are grouped linguistically and include the UK and Ireland; France, South Belgium and French-speaking Switzerland; Italy, Germany/Austria, the Iberian peninsula and Poland.
