A POLICY AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR THE MOBILE SATELLITE SERVICES

When users of the mobile satellite services (MSS), including the globa l mobile personal communications service (GMPCS), travel from country to country with their satellite phones, they can expect to encounter v arying regulatory requirements in regard to licence fees, customs duti es, type approval, etc. The MSS and GMPCS raise a number of important policy and regulatory issues that must be considered and resolved in e ach country if the international traveller is going to be able to go f rom country to country and expect to use his or her own terminal. In a ddition, the emerging new global satellite systems are likely to have many impacts, not all of which are well recognized. This article ident ifies some of the key issues. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd