Ofcom offers new spectrum for Transportable Earth Stations

Ofcom has opened up new spectrum in the C and Ka bands for use by Transportable Earth Stations (TES) i.e. portable satellite communications devices.

The spectrum has been made available immediately and users can apply for licenses on-line.

These licenses come with fees which Ofcom have also published.

This will allow satellite comms equipment to offer greater connection speeds by making use of the increased spectrum.

Ofcom issues new spectrum for Transportable Earth Stations

Due to the demand for extra capacity for Transportable Earth Stations (TES) i.e. mobile satellite systems, Ofcom has made available more spectrum for its use.

The following frequencies may be used for satellite uplinks

C band: 5925 - 7075 MHz

Ka band: 27.5 - 27.8185 GHz, 28.4545 - 28.8265 GHz, 29.4625 - 30 GHz

The pricing for licenses will be equivalent to those in the Ku band (13.78 - 14.5 GHz).

This follows a previous Ofcom consultation and though most responses were favourable, there were some objections from fixed earth station users, though Ofcom felt that opening up the C and Ka bands was more favourable than doing nothing with them.

The full statement may be seen on Ofcom's site

Ofcom wants to increases spectrum for outside broadcast units

Ofcom is holding a consultation on whether to allow increased spectrum for satellite earth stations (or to be specific Transportable Earth Stations or TES).

The current usable band is 13.78 - 14.5 GHz known as the "Ku band" and Ofcom wants to make the 5.925 - 7.075 GHz band (known a "C band") and 27.5 - 27.8185 GHz, 28.4545 - 28.8265 GHz and 29.4625 - 30 GHz collectively known as the "Ka band" available. C band users will mainly be foreign broadcasters reporting on UK events.

The new allocation will approximately triple the available bandwidth available.

The consultation closes on 11 October 2010 and interested stakeholders can apply on-line here.