A British satellite company has secured a highly competitive satellite spectrum license, overcoming bids from firms backed by U.S. technology billionaire Peter Thiel and Chinese investors.<\/p>\n
Open Cosmos announced Wednesday it was granted rights to Liechtenstein’s Ka-band spectrum, a valuable low-Earth orbit frequency utilized for high-speed internet services and military intelligence.<\/p>\n
The concession from the small European nation provides the British firm a significant advantage in the race to develop low-Earth orbit satellite networks, increasingly vital for cutting-edge telecommunications and national security.<\/p>\n
The company stated satellites are crucial for “Europe’s space sovereignty and digital resilience,” an area where commercial space developments have largely lagged behind competitors in the U.S. and China.<\/p>\n
While the International Telecommunication Union manages a range of frequencies, the Ka-band allocated to Liechtenstein represents a “high-priority” spectrum, offering faster connections and superior coverage.<\/p>\n
Open Cosmos, which has spent a decade launching satellites for telecommunications, Earth observation, and scientific missions, announced it will deploy two satellites as part of the Ka-band constellation “in the coming weeks.” Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink system operates with a constellation of LEO satellites utilizing the Ka-band and other spectrums.<\/p>\n
Liechtenstein’s Ka-band spectrum rights were previously held by Rivada, a U.S. company backed by Thiel with close ties to Republican lawmakers, including Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich, who have lobbied on behalf of the firm, as well as the U.S. Department of Defense.<\/p>\n
The licenses had been the subject of a fierce battle between Rivada and Kleo Connect, a German company supported by Shanghai Alliance Investment and China Telecom Corporation. In 2021, Rivada acquired a majority stake in Trion, a Liechtenstein-based firm that had entered a frequency rights agreement with Kleo.<\/p>\n
Rivada took over Trion’s licenses as part of its plans to develop a 600-satellite network. Kleo’s Chinese investors responded with legal action against Rivada, challenging the company’s plans.<\/p>\n
However, in October 2024, Liechtenstein revoked Rivada’s Ka-band license, citing “serious concerns regarding the financing of the satellite project.” Rivada CEO Declan Ganley stated last year the company was in negotiations with regulators to reinstate the license.<\/p>\n
Rivada was asked for comment. Hubert B\u00fcchel, Interior Minister for the landlocked Alpine country, stated the decision to grant the rights to Open Cosmos meant the Ka-band spectrum had been put “to good and effective use.”<\/p>\n
Baroness Liz Lloyd, the UK’s Space Minister, said the spectrum concession was “a testament to British ingenuity and ambition” and had “the potential to create hundreds of highly skilled jobs in manufacturing and engineering” at Open Cosmos’s facilities near Oxford.<\/p>\n
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