Name a spectrum band and there’s a satellite operator interested in it, commented Elizabeth Quintana, principal, space authorisation – policy at Ofcom. “We definitely live in interesting times.”
Quintana was speaking during a panel session at the recent NTN Integration Forum hosted by RCRTech, when she and other policy experts outlined their approaches to spectrum optimization amid growing telco and satco interest in non-terrestrial networks (NTN) and direct-to-device (D2D) services.
Her comment highlights that there is no such thing as a “quiet” band anymore. If a frequency band offers suitable propagation or capacity, someone in the satellite sector is already outlining a business plan for it. For UK regulators, that means staying open to experimentation while keeping an eye on long-term competition.
Also on the panel was Arpan Sura, a senior counsel to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr and chief AI officer. Other panelists included Julia Criado, head of department of spectrum planning and management at the Ministry for Digital Transformation and of Civil Service in Spain, and Audrey Allison, senior policy analyst, Center for Space and Policy Strategy at The Aerospace Corporation.
The message from the panel was clear: D2D is forcing regulators to rethink their approaches to which entities can use which bands, from where and under what rules. It is blurring the line between traditional mobile satellite service (MSS) bands and terrestrial mobile (IMT) bands, creating new regulatory challenges around the coexistence of services, cross‑border coordination and licensing models for shared or repurposed spectrum.
Diff’rent strokes
The panel also highlighted differences between the various national and regional strategies. For instance, Spain is erring on the cautious side for now. Criado said controlled trials are being carried out in particular with Starlink on the 2.6GHz terrestrial mobile band, “and these trials allow us to better understand how the service works.”
The UK is taking a broadly pragmatic approach. Quintana observed that the country has been “really keen to enable non‑terrestrial networks to expand both our broadband and mobile coverage. We are very fortunate that we have a very good terrestrial laydown… but we were one of the first countries to enable [NGSO FSS], and more recently we have enabled direct‑to‑device satellite services to help complement mobile in the UK, so this is direct‑to‑device using IMT spectrum.”
In contrast, the US has adopted a more aggressive stance, enabling D2D through a landmark 2024 framework that opens terrestrial bands to satellites, clarifies MSS rights, green-lights large constellations and even probes the use of core Wi‑Fi spectrum. As commented by Sura, it is pursuing an “all‑of‑the‑above” spectrum strategy.
At the same time, he warned that moves by the European Union to earmark two-thirds of the European 2GHz MSS spectrum could force the US to rethink its long-standing policy of reciprocity and openness.
Meanwhile, the ITU’s next World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) takes place in 2027. Allison has considerable experience with these landmark events, having served as committee and subcommittee chair at previous WRCs.
She noted that current radio regulations did not envisage a world where spectrum allocated “for use on the ground” would be reused from space for mass‑market D2D. In essence, agenda item 1.13 at WRC‑27 is effectively an effort to retrofit the rules. It explores whether satellites should be allowed to connect directly to ordinary mobile phones using the same spectrum used by terrestrial mobile networks.
The study covers 694/698MHz up to 2.7GHz, or spectrum that is already used or identified for terrestrial 4G/5G mobile services. Around a dozen specific arrangements are under study, and every one of them has incumbents: mobile networks, radar, Earth exploration, aeronautical telemetry and more.
Yet however disruptive NTN and D2D appear right now, WRC‑27 is part of a continuous process of adapting the rules.
“The beautiful thing about these radio regulations is we incrementally change them every four years… We’re always tinkering with them, and we’ll keep doing so in the future,” Allison said.
