I recognise the importance of the decisions of the World Radiocommunications Conference to UK industry, especially the space sector.

Government and Ofcom have developed our negotiating positions since the last conference in 2019, balancing the interests of multiple operators, networks and services in both space and terrestrial environments. UK stakeholders have been given the opportunity to influence our approach and Ofcom consulted in 2022.

At the conference, Ofcom will lead the UK delegation which will include officials from departments and agencies with spectrum interests. This includes DSIT, the Ministry of Defence, UK Space Agency, and the Met Office.

In preparing for the forthcoming ITU World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC), the government has worked extensively with Ofcom and with spectrum users to ensure the UK promotes the best interests of the UK. The WRC works on consensus, so compromise is expected in order to reach a conclusion all parties can sign up to. However, we will strongly resist any positions we believe undermine the UK’s objectives and will exercise our right to manage our domestic spectrum allocation where appropriate.

We will work with international partners, especially within the European regional group, to ensure protection for the continuation of the Digital Terrestrial Television (Freeview) platform and where the UK has the maximum flexibility to make long-term changes to domestic use of this spectrum band without needing to have regard to the spectrum priorities of neighbouring countries. We will only support changes to the Radio Regulations that are consistent with this.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has a team that engages regularly with the World Radiocommunication Conference process, throughout its four-year lifecycle, to ensure the MOD's views are fully represented. This includes engagement with our NATO and Five Eyes partners. Extensive work is undertaken to understand and assess the impact of any changes on Defence capabilities both before and after regulatory changes have been agreed. We are actively engaging with international partners on the topics for the World Radiocommunication Conference in November-December 2023, to ensure these are acceptable to the UK.

The Government remains committed to the future of broadcast television and radio, and, in particular, to the future of digital terrestrial television (DTT), the technology underpinning the popular Freeview platform, which relies on suitable access to ultra high frequency (UHF) spectrum.

The Government has been supportive of Ofcom’s negotiations on behalf of the UK within the ITU and at a European regional level. They have been advocating for the inclusion of a ‘no change’ option, which would maintain broadcast’s priority access to the UHF spectrum.

In addition, from a technical and regulatory perspective, even in a scenario where mobile was granted an allocation at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023, and it is subsequently deployed in neighbouring countries, the UK would be able to rely on the ITU Radio Regulations, ITU Regional Agreements and existing bilateral TV broadcasting agreements with our neighbouring countries to ensure that DTT use of the spectrum in the UK can continue. Before any decisions about the future of DTT in the UK are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences.

The Government remains committed to the future of broadcast television and radio, and, in particular, to the future of digital terrestrial television (DTT), the technology underpinning the popular Freeview platform, which relies on suitable access to ultra high frequency (UHF) spectrum.

The Government has been supportive of Ofcom’s negotiations on behalf of the UK within the ITU and at a European regional level. They have been advocating for the inclusion of a ‘no change’ option, which would maintain broadcast’s priority access to the UHF spectrum.

In addition, from a technical and regulatory perspective, even in a scenario where mobile was granted an allocation at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023, and it is subsequently deployed in neighbouring countries, the UK would be able to rely on the ITU Radio Regulations, ITU Regional Agreements and existing bilateral TV broadcasting agreements with our neighbouring countries to ensure that DTT use of the spectrum in the UK can continue. Before any decisions about the future of DTT in the UK are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences.

The government has been working with Ofcom, who represent the UK at the World Radiocommunication Conferences, to reiterate our commitment to broadcast implied through the renewal of the digital terrestrial TV multiplex licences until 2034. The UK’s preference at this stage is for ‘no change’ to the international spectrum allocation to broadcast at the 2023 conference.

It is important to note that even in the eventuality that a change to the international radio spectrum regulations is made at this WRC, the UK would still have the ability to take its own decisions domestically.