Here, Nina Percival, Ofcom’s Director of Space Spectrum and Authorisation Policy, explains why our work in space spectrum is so important, and what it means for the services you rely on.
Today we’ve published the latest updates in our approach to spectrum for space-based services.
Spectrum is the lifeblood of the space sector. These invisible airwaves support pioneering new communications services, like satellite broadband, phone calls via space, weather forecasting and satellite navigation.
As people and businesses expect to be able to use data services wherever they are, space offers new ways to keep us connected. Ofcom’s role is to manage the airwaves that communications services use. And today we’ve set out changes to how we license companies to use spectrum for satellite services.
What we’ve done
We’ve already taken lots of steps in this area. The UK has become the first country in western Europe to enable ‘direct-to-device’ technology, which allows standard smartphones to receive signals from space.
This use of satellites to make calls, texts and provide data helps to eliminate mobile blackspots on the ground. Virgin Media O2 has already launched its service, O2 Satellite, and VodafoneThree has set out plans to do so.
Satellite broadband is another growing sector that provides connections in places that are hard to reach. Ofcom research from last year shows that there are more than 110,000 Starlink broadband customers, with Amazon Leo and others planning to launch more satellite connectivity services in the UK soon.
Meanwhile, today’s announcements mark another step for Ofcom in making much more spectrum available, speeding up the licensing process and updating the fees we collect from companies to reflect rising demand and innovation.
What’s coming next
Over the coming months we’ll be consulting on further developments in this area.
For example, we’ll be setting out plans for making more spectrum available to provide satellite broadband services for ships and planes, and our future approach to the 2 GHz spectrum band.
We’re also representing the UK’s interests in international discussions to update the global rules around space spectrum, ensuring they remain suitable over the years and decades ahead.