| Thanks to the use of satellite technology, mobile personal telecommunications systems are able to provide communications simultaneously anywhere on the Earth's surface. The implementation of such systems raises several regulatory issues: after a brief explanation of the technical characteristics of different satellite systems in the first chapter, the second chapter will introduce the principles of space law relevant to satellite communications, with particular attention to the provisions which the development of global satellite telecommunication system could infringe. In the third chapter, there will be place for further analysis of international regulations established in the framework of the International Telecommunication Union and the World Trade Organisation, dealing more specifically with satellite telecommunications. The discipline established by the former organisation aims to the optimal management of the orbit and spectrum resources, particularly controversial because of the divergence of interests and exigencies of the member countries, whereas the latter intervened in the liberalisation of the telecommunication services, with the purpose to create an open environment for their diffusion. Furthermore, telecommunication activities are subjected to national regulation. The domestic discipline pertaining to global mobile satellite telecommunication services will be analysed in the fourth chapter, with particular attention to the U.S. Federal Communication Commission regulations and to the developments of Italian legislation in the light of the recent European initiatives in the field. National authorisation requirement conditions, in spite of the international effort toward regulatory harmonisation and liberalisation, are the key elements in the deployment of global mobile telecommunications services. National authorities should not continue to function solely on the basis of their national considerations, but be more flexible and open to cooperation, and realise to be part of the global telecommunication village. |
