• The UK has allocated £2.8bn of its £7.8bn space strategy to connectivity programmes including SKYNET and C-LEO
  • The plan also includes £57m from the Department for Transport to improve connectivity on trains

The fact

The UK government published a new Space Strategy on 8 September, bringing £7.8 billion of planned space funding and activity under one programme running to 2030. Around £2.8 billion is allocated to connectivity, including the military SKYNET satellite communications programme and Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit, or C-LEO.

The Department for Transport is also contributing £57 million towards better connectivity on trains. The government says satellite communications could help improve connections in rural areas and reduce mobile coverage gaps, although it has not given dates or locations for those services.

Satellite communications is one of four areas highlighted in the strategy, alongside space domain awareness, in-orbit servicing and manufacturing, and access to space. A separate C-LEO funding round worth up to £42 million closed on 7 September and covers technologies including satellite networking, antennas, optical links and user terminals.

The assessment

The £2.8 billion figure brings several different connectivity programmes under the same national strategy, but the money will not be spent through a single project. SKYNET serves military communications, C-LEO supports technologies for low-Earth-orbit networks, and the rail programme is focused on passenger connectivity.

For companies in the satellite supply chain, the more useful detail will come as those programmes begin awarding contracts. A supplier of antennas, terminals, optical links or networking technology needs to know which programme is buying, what it needs and when equipment has to be delivered. For BTW readers, the strategy gives a clearer picture of where UK public spending is heading. The next question is how much of that £2.8 billion turns into contracts, deployments, and working services.

What to watch

Watch the next C-LEO awards, SKYNET procurement milestones and contracts linked to the £57 million rail-connectivity programme. Named suppliers, contract values and deployment dates will show how the strategy is translating into infrastructure.