Low-Earth-Orbit Satellites and Digital Sovereignty: A Solution Is Within Reach

That challenge was the central issue at the panel discussion “NGSO Communication Systems: From National Ambitions to Regional Cooperation,” held on October 10 as part of the business program of the Second Global Digital Forum in Moscow.

Maria Bolshakova, Deputy Director General of the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications (RCC), moderated the session and outlined the central paradox. On the one hand, non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) systems offer high data transmission speeds and are in demand where geostationary solutions are technically or economically unviable. On the other hand, national approaches to regulation, market access for foreign operators and standardization are developing in a fragmented way. “This fragmentation drives up costs, weakens the region’s negotiating position and risks deepening digital inequality,” she said.

Boris Vasiliev, Head of Division in the Department of International Information Security at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said NGSO systems had long since become more than a technical issue and were now part of the international security agenda. He cited Iran as a key example, saying that protests there had been coordinated using illegally imported Starlink terminals. Similar situations had been reported in Venezuela, Nicaragua and more than ten other countries. “The scale of the problem is enormous,” Vasiliev said. “We are not engaged in any covert activity. We are open about everything. We ask people to vote for Russia and for our partners in the RCC,” he added.

Hossameldin Atef Mohamed Allam, State Counsellor at Egypt’s State Litigation Authority under the Ministry of Justice, identified the lack of coordination between existing international commitments and national regulatory systems as the main challenge.

He proposed five principles for regional cooperation on NGSO systems: common minimum standards for accountability and dispute resolution; coordinated licensing and frequency-allocation procedures; cooperation on cybersecurity and data protection; transparent market-access conditions without unnecessary barriers; and a commitment to connectivity for remote regions.

Alexey Borodin, Director General of the RCC, noted that the organization was already working to create a unified radio region spanning Africa, the Arab world, Europe and Central Eurasia.

“We are indeed a large radio region, and we simply have to develop common, consistent approaches because we will need to defend and represent them at the World Radiocommunication Conference,” he said.

Borodin outlined the key principles the RCC proposes to establish: mandatory licensing; frequency coordination and electromagnetic compatibility; nondiscriminatory access; registration of a legal entity in the country where services are provided; and routing domestic traffic through national or regional ground hubs.

Dmitry Tur, Director of the Department of State Regulation for the Telecommunications Market at Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, agreed with the other speakers but stressed that a regional agreement should build on existing national mechanisms rather than create a parallel regulatory system. He also reported that Russia had already launched its own NGSO system. Russia is now concerned not only with the terms under which foreign operators can enter its market, but also with the conditions for Russian systems to enter foreign markets.

Pablo Julio Pla Feria, Cuba’s Deputy Minister of Communications, noted that for 30 years the country had been forced to defend itself, including through technical means, against encroachments on its sovereignty. Many users are unaware that they are receiving unauthorized transmissions, as very small terminals are appearing on the island, some even built into televisions. “Technological sovereignty means using technology properly for the benefit of our countries, not foreign ones,” Pla Feria said. He noted that all equipment imported into Cuba must receive prior approval and that the national frequency allocation table is constantly updated.

John Aggrey, Director General of the Ghana–Russia Trade and Cooperation Centre, described the West African approach. Ghana has three levels of authorization: type approval of terminals by national communications authorities, landing rights for satellite constellations, and a requirement to have a local partner. “We are convinced that our sovereignty cannot be traded away or compromised,” he said.

Participants agreed that the time had come to establish common approaches based on international, technical and antitrust regulation. They discussed a cooperation mechanism that could be open to countries from different regions.

Forum participants agreed to continue discussing these prospects at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference in Qatar and the 2027 World Radiocommunication Conference in Shanghai.