The European Commission has adopted new rules to facilitate the use of mobile phones while on ships in European territorial waters.
The new decision guarantees the availability of 900 MHz and/or 1800 MHz frequencies for on-board services under harmonised…
The European Commission has adopted new rules to facilitate the use of mobile phones while on ships in European territorial waters.
The new decision guarantees the availability of 900 MHz and/or 1800 MHz frequencies for on-board services under harmonised technical, legal and operational conditions. It also ensures that on-board mobile services do not interfere with land-based ones.
The new rules aims to provide legal certainty for service providers who want to offer seamless maritime mobile connectivity across borders, putting an end to the 27 different sets of national legislation.
Simultaneously, the Commission has adopted a recommendation that EU countries liberalise this segment so that on-board service operators authorised in one country can provide services in the territorial waters of other EU countries without the need for further licences.
EU Member States have twelve months to make room for mobile communication services on ships in the radio spectrum bands concerned and to adjust their national laws to comply with the decision.