Solaris Mobile has secured European Commission approval to use the S-band spectrum for a satellite mobile TV service across Europe.
However, Dublin-based Solaris Mobile also said that in the course of carrying out tests on its S-band satellite capacity which was launched last month, an anomaly has been detected in its performance.
Additional analysis is consequently planned with the satellite’s prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space, in order to identify the cause of the anomaly and fully to assess the extent of the S-band payload's capability to provide mobile satellite services to the European marketplace.
But the company said it was confident of its ability to meet the commitments made under the European Commission selection process.
“We are delighted with the spectrum award which marks a critically important milestone for innovative mobile satellite services in Europe,” said Steve Maine, CEO, Solaris Mobile.
Solaris Mobile is a joint venture between Eutelsat and SES Astra, which was created to develop next generation mobile TV services via satellite.
London-based satellite company Inmarsat was selected as the second operator of the proposed pan-European mobile TV services.
They will use two 15MHz blocks of spectrum in the S-band which sits alongside UMTS frequencies that are already used across Europe for 3G terrestrial services.