ITU rejects Liechtenstein delay request
July 8, 2022
By Chris Forrester
Liechtenstein has lost its appeal to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to allow a delay of one year to launch two low Earth orbiting broadband constellations.
The ITU’s powerful – and usually strict – Radio Regulations Board has firmly turned down the government of Liechtenstein along with its licensed partner, US-based Rivada Space Networks, which had hoped to secure permissions for the pair of 300 satellites to be launched although much later than originally planned.
The decision gives Rivada a major problem, and not helping matters is the fact that it does not yet have the cash ready to start building satellites, although it is reportedly sourcing quotes for the constellations.
Rivada, had it obtained the permissions, would have had to launch two batches of 28 satellites in each constellation to be launched into orbit by June next year.