France and Germany have taken the first steps towards mutual recognition of satellite licences: speaking at a recent conference, Bruno Lasserre, director general of DRG – the French equivalent of the UK Office of Telecommunications – talked of mutual recognition whereby a satellite company licensed in France would be able to provide the same service in Germany and vice versa; fundamental differences between the two countries’ regulations rule out automatic recognition at the moment; however, the new agreement means that a satellite operator wanting to offer a service in both countries can submit applications for both to either the French or German authorities to liaise with their counterparts.
