Statement: Satellite Earth Station Network licences

Statement published 15 September 2023

The launch and operation of Non-geostationary Orbiting (NGSO) satellite constellations - such as the Starlink/SpaceX and OneWeb systems - represents a relatively new way of delivering high capacity, high speed and low latency broadband services.

We want to encourage new NGSO services, for the benefit of UK consumers and businesses, while ensuring different systems can coexist without undue or harmful interference.

In support of this objective, we published a consultation (PDF, 627.9 KB) in May 2023 on proposals to update our satellite Earth Station Network licence to ensure all providers of UK satellite services - both Geostationary Orbiting (GSO) and NGSO - can access radio spectrum in a similar manner, including for connectivity on ships and boats.  The below statement sets out our decisions on those proposals.