World Radiocommunication Conference

Um, and, and we've worked on, uh, on so many different, uh, work streams with them.

How-- at holds-- Especially holding briefings, um, on everything from, uh, BEAD to our preparations for the 2027 World Radio Communication Conference and participation in international telecom fora, FirstNet reauthorization, NTIA's budget, um, and rec- and our recent 911 cost estimate.

Um, you know, one, one thing that, uh, stands out from working o- in the executive branch is the coordination that's required.

Um, you know, any issue can have so many different federal equities, um, and ensuring, uh, coordination across the administration is a really great route to success.

How do other countries allocate spectrum for direct-to-device service? Other countries allocate direct-to-device spectrum through existing mobile bands, and the ITU is studying a global allocation for 2027.

WRC-23 adopted Resolution 253, which sets World Radiocommunication Conference 2027 Agenda Item 1.13 to study direct connection between space stations and IMT user equipment in the 694 and 698 to 2,700 megahertz range.

Working Party 4C leads the studies with Working Party 5D, and the proposed methods range from no change to a secondary allocation to a primary allocation with conditions backed by strict power flux density limits, beam shaping, and sidelobe control.

In the United Kingdom, Ofcom made regulations on June 18, 2026, that exempt handsets from licensing when they connect to direct-to-device service in the 900 megahertz band, effective July 10, 2026, after approving a license variation for Vodafone 3 in April 2026.

The milestone schedule will test that production and launch cadence.

How will the proposed four hundred eighty-two megahertz of new supplemental coverage bands interact with the lease requirement? The October sixth, two thousand twenty-six, order waived the lease requirement for SpaceX, and the rulemaking will show whether the commission treats that waiver as a template or an exception.

What will WRC-27 adopt for the six hundred ninety-four and six hundred ninety-eight to two thousand seven hundred megahertz range? Power flux density limits, beam management rules, and a decision between a secondary and a primary allocation will set the international terms under which a US constellation serves a roaming subscriber.

The next piece in this series examines the October twenty-nine, two thousand twenty-six, FCC open meeting items line by line, and it shows how the proposed four hundred eighty-two megahertz expansion and the twenty-five megahertz mid-band notice change the lease economics for terrestrial spectrum holders.