- Outdated regulatory processes and rising pushes for space sovereignty are worsening the global spectrum crunch
- Multi-orbit coordination and orbital shell access are becoming as critical as spectrum itself
- The satellite industry may ultimately rely on AI tools to coordinate traffic across thousands of devices and expanding constellations
SAT SHOW 2026, WASHINGTON DC – The battle for satellite spectrum is intensifying but outdated regulatory processes and the push for sovereign space infrastructure stand in the way of smarter spectrum allocation, a panel argued at SATShow this week.
A fundamental issue operators have historically faced is acquiring spectrum on a global scale rather than just regional licenses, said Iridium CTO Greg Pelton.
With more countries now interested in sovereign space services and controlling spectrum “more carefully,” particularly in the EU which looks to reallocate 2GHz S-band spectrum in 2027, “spectrum positions are going to be harder to maintain,” he said.
“This isn’t going to go away, it’s not going to come easier,” Pelton said.
An “out of pace” regulatory environment doesn’t help alleviate spectrum concerns, said Lynk Global Chief Engineer Joseph Bravman. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which is responsible for managing global spectrum and setting technical standards, has been around for about 160 years. Its processes are “like treaties” rather than technology regulations, he said.
“By the time they really wrap all the right kind of regulations around [direct-to-device], there are going to be thousands of satellites up there and they’re going to do whatever they want to do,” said Bravman.
But he acknowledged that regulators have an “impossibly tough job” to change rules around spectrum allocation and monetization. “It’s like dealing with national borders.”
Furthermore, the satellite industry must move away from “hardware-bound” architecture and standards, said Sridhar Kuppanna, CTO of satcom tech provider ST Engineering iDirect. Focus on cloud-native architecture has been “beaten to death on the terrestrial side” but that shift needs to happen for satellite as networks scale.
Spectrum deals such as SpaceX’s purchase of EchoStar licenses and the AST SpaceMobile/Ligado partnership are also shaking up the landscape, with Pelton noting the tide is switching back to mobile satellite spectrum (MSS) as operators don’t want to solely rely on terrestrial wireless spectrum for services like D2D.
“I think we’ve seen that many companies realize it’s hard to do that on a global basis,” he said.
It’s not just the spectrum rights satellite operators need to worry about. Access to orbital shells is crucial, Bravman said. An orbital shell is a set of satellites that share a fixed altitude, and operators like Starlink have multiple shells in various altitudes to provide global coverage.
“Having ownership of an orbital shell is not a whole lot different from having spectrum, and it probably is no less difficult to try to regulate and adjudicate,” said Bravman.
The ramp in satellite launches from SpaceX, Amazon Leo as well as China (which is looking to rival Starlink) is causing increased concern about coordination in the crowded space system.
Perhaps an AI use case will emerge to handle satellite coordination, Bravman noted. “Because we can’t have thousands of people” managing operations across constellations.
Pelton hopes the future will bring clearer standards around multi-orbit satellite systems, which can facilitate coordination between low-earth orbit (LEO), geostationary (GEO) and medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites.
“If you’re one company that has multiple orbits, you can figure out ways of making them work together. If you’re multiple companies with different orbits, there’s really no model for doing that today,” he added.