Guest editorial IJSCN special issue on ASMS/SPSC 2014

The ASMS conference and SPSC workshop have become recognized events for industry and research institutions to exchange up-to-date information about recent advances and emerging technologies in the field of mobile satellite communication systems. The ESA's SPSC workshop dates back to 1988 when pioneering work in digital signal processing for satellite communications was first presented by worldwide authorities in the field. In addition, following the successful path opened by the 2006 edition of ASMS and continued with the 2008, 2010 and 2012 editions, the scope of the conference has been further widened, as the small though important change in its name by replacing the word ‘mobile’ with ‘multimedia’ testifies. This is remarkable not only because the major part of the SATCOM market belongs to broadcasting and broadband access operators but also fundamentally because the convergence of broadcast, mobile and fixed satellite communications is essential to offer seamless connectivity anywhere at any time, which is recognized as the key element for the successful deployment of future satellite systems.