Ofcom Open 10GHz of UK Spectrum in Q and V Bands for Satellite Broadband

The UK communications regulator, Ofcom, has today allowed broadband satellite operators (e.g. Starlink and Amazon Leo) to harness up to 10GHz of extra radio spectrum frequency in the Q and V bands to help boost the backhaul data capacity of their ground-based gateway sites. But the main focus of this will initially be on rural “low density” areas covering 94% of the UK’s landmass.

A number of satellite operators are currently known to be preparing to harness the Q/V band(s) to support their broadband services, which could significantly boost their network capacity and thus service speeds to customers. Suffice to say that there’s plenty of demand for these bands and Ofcom has thus made the spectrum available to both traditional geostationary orbit (GSO) satellites and also those in non-geostationary orbits (NGSO), such as Starlink in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

The regulator said they plan to assess requests for licences to use this spectrum on a first come, first served basis, in line with the usual application processes for an NGSO gateway licence or GSO Permanent Earth Station licence. Access to the 39.5 – 40.5GHz and 50.4 – 51.4GHz bands will also be subject to additional coordination with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which still makes use of it.

In addition, Ofcom have today also launched a new consultation, which proposes to authorise the use of up to 8GHz of spectrum in part of the same bands for gateways in the remaining 6% of the UK landmass (“high density areas“). But doing this may be a bit more complex due to the higher risk of interference.

Ofcom’s Changes and New Proposal

We are opening access to up to 10 GHz of Q/V band spectrum for satellite gateways in predominantly rural ‘low density’ areas covering 94% of the UK landmass in the following frequencies:

➤ GSO: uplink 47.2 – 50.2 GHz and 50.4 – 52.4 GHz; downlink 37.5 – 42.5 GHz
➤ NGSO: uplink 47.2 – 50.2 GHz and 50.4 – 51.4 GHz; downlink 37.5 – 42.5 GHz

Licensees will be subject to licence conditions to enable coexistence with other spectrum users, including:

• a maximum transmit power density at the antenna port (-7.4 dBW/1MHz for GSO and +6.5 dBW/1MHz for NGSO) and conformance with at least minimum International Telecoms Union (‘ITU’) recommended antenna performance to support coexistence;

• a minimum elevation angle (‘MEA’) of 15 degrees2 for NGSO and GSO gateways;

• GSO and NGSO gateway operators must abide by existing ITU rules to protect other services.

We will assess requests for licences to use this spectrum on a first come, first served basis, in line with the usual application processes for an NGSO gateway licence or GSO Permanent Earth Station licence. Access to 39.5 – 40.5 GHz and 50.4 – 51.4 GHz will be subject to additional coordination with the Ministry of Defence.

New Consultation

In our July 2025 Consultation proposals, we said that Q/V band frequencies would not be available for gateway use in urban high density (‘HD’) areas, which comprise 68 major towns and cities in the UK occupying 6% of the total UK landmass. This was to ensure coexistence with future mobile services in HD areas using 40.5-43.5 GHz, which overlaps with the 37.5 – 42.5 GHz Q/V band satellite downlink frequencies.

Feedback from satellite stakeholders suggests that the option to use gateways in urban areas may become more important in future, and that several gateway operators are willing to accept some interference risk from mobile services to facilitate urban access to Q/V band.

In view of the potential benefits of enabling some Q/V band gateway access in HD areas, we are consulting on proposals to authorise use of up to 8 GHz of spectrum in these areas by:

➤ permitting NGSO and GSO gateway uplink in urban HD areas on the same frequencies as those we are making available in low density (‘LD’) areas;

➤ permitting NGSO and GSO gateway downlink in 37.5 – 40.5 GHz. In addition, we are seeking further feedback on the feasibility of supporting shared use of 40.5 – 42.5 GHz (alongside mobile services) in HD areas in future;

➤ requiring that gateways in HD areas operate on a ‘non interference, non protection’ basis with regards to adjacent channel mobile users.

We also set out a range of options for coordinating co-channel sharing with fixed links and options for the minimum elevation angle we should permit in these HD areas.

Separately, Ofcom said they will also extend the Administered Incentive Pricing (AIP) model they use for GSO gateways to NGSO satellite gateway licences as well. “This reflects the significant growth in NGSO use in recent years and covers the extra spectrum we are making available today. Our fee model is designed to promote efficient use of spectrum – encouraging users to think carefully about their spectrum needs, as well as incentivising the highest value uses,” said the regulator.

Satellite operators can apply for the new spectrum in low density areas from today, although we’ll have to wait until later in the year to see what the regulator decides for the remaining high density areas. On top of all this Ofcom have announced changes to improve their NGSO licensing process, which includes measures to speed up decision-making timeframes and reduce the administrative burden on NGSO satellite operators.