Value chain · CLM-0503
In plain terms
Under the international radio rules as revised at the 2023 world radio conference, there is no radio-frequency allocation for beaming power from space to Earth at either of the two frequencies CASSIOPeiA-type designs use. The international studies that might lead to one are due to report to a conference in 2031, a year after the first working system that a 2025 UK report forecasts for 2030, and before its 2033 and 2036 steps; the report says its dates are estimates.
The claim as recorded
No ITU frequency allocation exists for space-to-Earth wireless power transmission at 2.45 GHz or 5.8 GHz, which the 2025 RAF036/2425 report describes as ITU-designated ISM frequencies; ITU Resolution 910 (WRC-23) asks for studies on suitable frequency ranges for WPT to be completed in time for WRC-31 and invites WRC-31 to consider possible bands, so on our reading the earliest an allocation could be decided is 2031, one year after the report's 2030 MVP launch forecast and before its 2033 and 2036 milestones, all of which the report gives as estimated timescales only.
Evidence behind this: T4, the weaker of its sources: the two ITU resolutions are T1 (SRC-079, SRC-101); the 2025 feasibility report that gives the launch dates is a commissioned study, T4 (SRC-076).
Scope and limits
A national (UK-only) spectrum authorisation route not requiring ITU allocation may be available for a UK-sited demonstration or small MVP under Ofcom's own powers; the 2025 report states that "Space Solar have held discussions with Ofcom and the ITU regarding frequency choices" (SRC-076 PDF p15, footnote 11), which shows the question being pursued; no held source evidences any such route being secured.
What it assumes
WRC-31 is the relevant conclusion point for these studies, as stated in the resolutions; this could change if an earlier conference addresses the question on an accelerated basis, which no held source indicates.
Where it comes from
(Resolution 910, WRC-23), paraphrased: it invites ITU-R to finish, in time for the 2031 conference, studies of suitable frequency ranges for harmonised WPT operation, and invites WRC-31 to consider possible WPT frequency bands. SRC-079 (Resolution 813, WRC-23), the agenda for the 2027 conference, contains no WPT item (our search of the held text). SRC-076 PDF p29: "In 2030, the MVP is forecast to launch, providing 31 MW of power from HEO", with 2033 (150 MW, HEO) and 2036 (650 MW, first GEO system) following, and footnote 29: "Estimated timescales only. Actual timescales are subject to availability of funding, regulatory requirements and technological developments". SRC-076 PDF p15 describes 2.45 GHz and 5.8 GHz as "designated by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as ISM (industrial, scientific, medical) frequencies".
Basis: frequency allocation status for space-to-Earth WPT at 2.45/5.8 GHz
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-001 not published in this release
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-0503
CLM-0503, Energy Aperture, as of 2023.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
- Also from SRC-076
- CLM-0018The most recent UK government report calls 230 watts per square metre a limit to be reached because it lowers cost, and cites an earlier...CLM-0019The report sets out Space Solar's plan: a small in-orbit test, then 31 megawatts in 2030, 150 megawatts in 2033, and 650 megawatts in...CLM-0152Two UK industry planning documents, from 2022 and 2025, each state a beam-intensity design figure in the 230-245 watts-per-square-metre...CLM-0213The study assumes that connecting a ground receiving site to the electricity grid costs about GBP 150,000 for every megawatt of power the...CLM-0214Six different solar-power-satellite designs each claim that turning the electricity collected on the ground into grid-ready power is 90 to...CLM-0215Any UK ground receiving station that wants to connect to the electricity grid must be able to supply or absorb a type of power called...CLM-0216The UK's fast-response grid support services need a generator to react within seconds, at any moment over a 4-hour period. A ground...CLM-0517Every date in the plan -- the ground demo (2026), the demo mission (2027-28), 2030, 2033 and 2036 -- is a hope, not a booking, and the...More on the source page.
- Also from SRC-079
- CLM-0052Neither wireless power transmission nor space solar power is on the agenda for the 2027 world radio conference.
- Also from SRC-101
- CLM-0051The international radio rules do not recognise wireless power transmission as a service, do not regulate it, and the studies that might...CLM-0053Power beaming is not a recognised radio service, so no spectrum is expected to be allocated for beaming power from space and no...CLM-0054None of the seven ITU documents on wireless power transmission that were searched mentions what a power beam does to the ionosphere.CLM-0120There is still no international radio allocation for beaming power from space, and the studies are not due until 2031.