Since the middle of 1970's, the research and development activities on satellite communications for mobiles such as ships, aircraft and land mobiles have been continued in many countries and organizations. Typical programs are the ETS-V in Japan, MSAT-X in USA, MSAT in Canada and PROSAT in Europe. In implementing mobile satellite communications, a vehicle antenna is one of the most importent key technologies. This paper reviews system requirements, design, performances, research activities and future prospects on vehicle antennas.

Since the first use of mobile satellite communications in 1976 by MARISAT, a number of studies have been carried out to expand their application from international to regional, and to domestic services. By employing the conventional satellites for fixed satellite communications, domestic mobile satellite data communication services have been in commercial use since 1989. Moreover, domestic mobile satellite communication systems employing dedicated satellites to mobile satellite communication are scheduled for commercial operation in Australia, Canada and the USA. Prior to this operation, preliminary mobile satellite communications services employing the MARISAT and MARECS B-2 satellites for data transmission started in Canada and the USA in 1990. Furthermore, more sophisticated and advanced mobile satellite communication systems such as personal communication systems are under development in various countries. This paper reviews the current and future mobile satellite communication systems and related technologies.