There’s at least one space race already underway to get to the moon. There’s also another one: to claim radio frequencies and orbital slots in the limited space around the earth. The main participants of this race are companies launching large fleets of satellites working together, called megaconstellations. These megaconstellations are already revolutionising Internet access around the world — but they’re also sparking a fierce and fraught competition for the invisible highways across which they send and receive information.
In physics, ‘spectrum’ refers to energy levels. Satellite communications uses the word with a similar meaning: the spectrum is the range of radio frequencies available for wireless data transmission. Radio frequencies are to outer space activities as oxygen is to life on the earth’s surface: essential. Enabling data transmission between satellites and ground stations through electromagnetic spectrum bands allocated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) assigns the frequencies of electromagnetic radiation that different satellites and ground stations can use to talk to each other. The most sought after frequencies are Ku-band (12-18 GHz) and Ka-band (26-40 GHz) for high-speed satellite internet and L-band (1-2 GHz) for GPS. Each satellite must coordinate its spectrum use to avoid interfering with signals in another channel. But spectrum alone is insufficient: satellites also need to occupy certain physical orbital positions so that their broadcasts reach antennae on the ground.
Megaconstellation boom
This scramble for spectrum and orbital slots has led to unprecedented satellite deployment. SpaceX’s Starlink, launched in 2019, now operates over 8,000 satellites with plans for up to 42,000. OneWeb has 648 satellites, Amazon’s Project Kuiper plans 3,200, and China’s GuoWang has aimed for 13,000.
The value of the satellite megaconstellation market is thus projected to explode from $4.27 billion in 2024 to $27.31 billion by 2032, a 25.5% annual growth rate driven by demand for high-speed Internet in remote regions and dropping launch costs. The competition also transcends commercial markets; to countries outside the west, megaconstellations constitute a strategic push for technological sovereignty in space communications.
ITU governance
The ITU is a specialised agency of the United Nations with 194 member states. It serves as the sole global coordinator for satellite spectrum and orbital slots, operating under the principle that these are “limited natural resources that must be used rationally, efficiently and economically”.
The ITU’s first-come, first-served coordination system requires satellite operators to file frequency applications and coordinate with potentially affected administrations before receiving international recognition. This creates a competitive advantage for well-capitalised entities from spacefaring nations because they can file applications early and maintain the legal and technical expertise to navigate the lengthy coordination process. Late entrants risk finding the most valuable spectrum-orbital combinations already claimed.
The World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 introduced some reforms. Its Resolution 8 in particular requires operators to notify deviations between planned and actual orbital deployments, preventing companies from claiming one orbit while deploying elsewhere. The Conference also formalised expectations that if a company proposes to launch a megaconstellation, it must deploy 10% of it within two years, 50% within five years, and complete deployment in seven years.
The ITU’s framework was designed for the 1960s-1990s satellite era and today faces mounting pressure. Its 2025-2029 operational plan identifies “spectrum and satellite orbits” as the top priority, acknowledging that traditional coordination mechanisms designed for hundreds of satellites are struggling to manage thousands of annual deployments. The body processes approximately 80% of satellite-related agenda items, a sign that satellite constellations dominate international spectrum management.
Digital divide
It’s not possible to simply write off megaconstellations because they are one solution to bridging a connectivity disparity among the world’s countries. For instance, on the Global Connectivity Index (a figure that combines the number of internet users, connected devices, natural-disaster vulnerability, and GDP), Switzerland leads with a score of 34.41 while India sits at 8.59, a nearly fourfold gap. Worldwide, 2.6 billion people remained offline at the start of 2025, with the most vulnerable populations in South Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Satellite operators know that satellites in low-earth orbit (150-2,000 km above sea level) promise lower latency and higher bandwidth than traditional geostationary satellites (35,786 km above sea level). A latency of 20-40 ms, compared to 600+ ma for geostationary satellites, makes real-time applications like telemedicine and online education more feasible in remote regions, especially where ground-based infrastructure is out of the question.
The thorn here is affordability. Starlink’s user terminal, which receives the satellites’ transmissions, costs around $600 (₹53,168 on November 17) with monthly subscription fees, which is unaffordable for rural populations without subsidies or tiered pricing models. The ITU’s ‘Connecting Humanity Action Blueprint’ has also estimated that closing the digital divide by 2030 will require $2.6-2.8 trillion in investments, underscoring the scale of the challenge.
For emerging spacefaring nations, this creates dual imperatives: securing spectrum access through the ITU’s coordination system while ensuring connectivity translates to genuine affordability.
India exemplifies this situation. The GSAT-N2 satellite of the Indian Space Research Organisation has a throughput of 48 Gbps and covers remote regions, including the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and the Northeast, while Bharti Enterprises’ 39% stake in OneWeb positions India within the global low-earth orbit ecosystem. However, the Telecom Regulatory Authority has recommended administrative spectrum allocation rather than auctions, recognising that spectrum for non-geostationary satellites can be shared when properly coordinated. This framework is designed to accelerate deployment while maintaining affordability.
Yet the fundamental tension remains: without regulatory mandates for universal service obligations or government subsidies, satellite broadband risks becoming premium infrastructure serving urban enterprises and wealthy households rather than bridging urban-rural divides.
The path onward
Thus the urgency of reform is clear. Current trajectories indicate operators around the world will launch more than 50,000 satellites by 2030. The Earth orbit hosts around 40,000 tracked objects, including over 27,000 pieces of debris larger than 10 cm.
The ITU adopted a resolution called ITU-R 74 in 2023 calling for the sustainable use of spectrum and orbital resources, including measures to mitigate space debris. Notably, it requires satellites to be removed from orbit within 25 years of completing their missions to prevent defunct spacecraft from accumulating in orbit. Current compliance rates remain low, however, with at best 70% of satellite operators actually deorbiting their machines in this timeframe. This compliance gap means debris continues to accumulate faster than it is removed, threatening the long-term sustainability of orbital space.
As megaconstellations enter orbit, the overall success depends on governance frameworks that balance commercial innovation with scientific research, equitable access, and of course orbital sustainability. Without binding international standards and equitable allocation, the fight for spectrum could become a war, risking creating an orbital environment that is eventually too congested for anyone to use. For emerging space nations like India, shaping these frameworks now, rather than accepting rules written by other governments, will determine whether space becomes a shared resource or a domain of persistent inequality.
Shrawani Shagun is a researcher focusing on environmental sustainability and space governance.
Published – December 11, 2025 08:30 am IST
