97/39/EC: Commission Decision of 18 December 1996 relating to a proceeding under Article 85 of the EC Treaty and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (Case IV/35.518 - Iridium) (Only the English text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance)

Article 1

On the basis of the facts in its possession, the Commission has no grounds for action under Article 85 (1) of the EC Treaty and Article 53 (1) of the EEA Agreement in respect of the notified agreements relating to the creation of Iridium.

Article 2

On the basis of the facts in its possession, the Commission has no grounds for action under Article 85 (1) of the EC Treaty and Article 53 (1) of the EEA Agreement in respect of the pricing policies to be established by Iridium as guidelines under Paragraph 3.1 of each Gateway Authorization Agreement, in respect of the exclusive distribution rights granted to gateway investor operators under Paragraph 3 of every Stock Purchase Agreement and in respect of the guidelines for service provider selection as notified.

Article 3

This Decision is addressed to:
Iridium LLC,
1401 H. Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20005,
USA.
Done at Brussels, 18 December 1996.
For the Commission
Karel VAN MIERT
Member of the Commission
(1) OJ No 13, 21. 2. 1962, p. 204/62.
(2) OJ No C 255, 3. 9. 1996, p. 2.
(3) For a description of a gateway, see recital 12.
(4) The total system's implementation costs are estimated at nearly USD 4.7 billion (not including handsets).
(5) The system will use a frequency in the range of 1616-1626,5 Mhz for user links (as reserved for S-PCS systems during WRC-92), 19,4-19.6 Ghz and 29,1-29,3 Ghz for feeder and gateway links (space to earth and earth to space) and 23,18-23,38 Ghz for the inter-satellite links.
(6) The system also includes a number of spare satellites in orbit, intended to replace failed ones.
(7) The master control facility will control the performance and status of satellites and manage the network. The back-up control facility will replace the master control facility in case of failure and will control spare satellites in orbit.
(8) TT& C stations will track the movements of the satellites and adjust their orbits to maintain the constellation.
(9) Iridium Systems Practices (ISP) is the set of guidelines, recommendations, rules, plans and other instructions related to technical and operational matters associated with the operation of the Iridium system. Some technical and operational portions of these practices are intended to be mandatory in order to secure a high degree of network integrity. The ISP has not yet been completed even in draft form.
(10) Iridium will keep a part of the access fee and of the usage fee. In addition, Iridium expects to keep an additional amount as compensation for the clearinghouse function. The remaining will be used to compensate gateway operators, service providers and other parties.
(11) LEO satellites are located around 900 km over the earth. Full coverage of the earth's surface would require a minimum of 66 LEO satellites. This is the kind of orbit chosen by Iridium.
MEO satellites are located around 10 000 km over the earth. Full coverage of the earth's surface would require a minimum of 10 MEO satellites.
GEO satellites are located at 36 000 km over the earth. Full coverage of the earth's surface would require only 3 GEO satellites.
(12) The smallest GEO receiver is as big as a small briefcase.
(13) It is expected that the price differential between dual-mode (satellite and GSM) and single-mode terminals (GSM only) will be as low as 10 %.
(14) For details of the Inmarsat-P system see Article 19 (3) Notice: OJ No C 304, 15. 11. 1995, p. 6.
(15) The level of launch concentration in Iridium (66 satellites to be launched - launching several satellites at a time - in just 24 months) has not previously been undertaken on a commercial basis.
(16) In the Community, although exclusive and special rights in respect of the use of terminal equipment and of the provision of telecommunication services (excluding voice telephony until 1998) have been recently abolished (Commission Directive 94/46/EC of 13 October 1994; OJ No L 268, 19. 10. 1995, p. 15), a common approach to frequency-licensing has not been developed yet.
(17) OJ No L 354, 31. 12. 1994, p. 75 (paragraph 55).

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