The UK government is stepping up its bid to become a major force in satellite communications, unveiling £30 million in fresh funding for British space firms targeting a
global market valued at £40 billion.
The investment, announced by Space Minister Liz Lloyd, marks the second round of support from the UK Space Agency’s Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit (C-LEO) programme. The funding is designed to help UK companies develop next-generation technologies for satellite constellations — the vast fleets of satellites that now underpin everything from broadband internet and navigation to maritime tracking and aviation communications.
Orbiting hundreds of miles above Earth, these satellite networks work together to deliver high-speed connectivity to places traditional infrastructure struggles to reach, including remote rural areas, ships at sea and aircraft in flight. Demand for these services is accelerating, with the global satellite communications market growing at more than 10% a year, fuelled by needs ranging from weather forecasting to secure defence and national security capabilities.
Space Minister Liz Lloyd said: “Space is now the cornerstone of our modern economy. Satellite constellations have revolutionised how we operate, digitalising industries, optimising logistics and connecting all corners of the globe.
This new funding will support the development of smarter satellites with better hardware, the use of AI to make data delivery faster and improved connections between spacecraft.
This is part of the government’s commitment to keeping UK companies at the forefront of satellite communications, delivering economic growth and strengthening our defence and national security”.
The £30 million package is aimed at helping firms move beyond testing and closer to deployment, making their technologies ready for real-world missions and future contracts with major satellite network operators. Ministers say the programme will also improve how quickly data can be processed, reduce delays in communications, and give greater assurance over where sensitive UK data is stored and handled.
The announcement comes as more than 5,000 industry figures gather at Space-Comm Expo at ExCeL London, one of Europe’s largest space industry events. The government is using the conference to outline a broader vision of the UK as a competitive and agile space power, with satellite communications identified as one of four priority areas for future investment.
The C-LEO programme has already backed three projects in its first funding round, providing £18 million to eight UK companies. Those projects have created 26 specialist jobs so far and are developing technologies such as user terminals, active antennas and on-board regenerative processors — work that will continue for another two years.
With global demand rising and strategic importance growing, ministers believe the latest investment could help secure a much larger role for UK firms in the fast-expanding satellite communications economy.
Bethan Evans, Chief Operating Officer at Excelerate Technology, one of the companies that received funding from the first C-LEO call, said: «Support from the C-LEO programme has played a pivotal role in accelerating the MAMUT programme toward full market readiness. The funding has enabled us to enhance the scalability, resilience and commercial viability of our solution, ensuring it will meet the evolving needs of customers. Just as importantly, the collaborative framework of the programme has strengthened partnerships across the ecosystem, enabling shared expertise, integration opportunities and greater alignment with end-user requirements.
As a result, we have accelerated product development, strengthened our market position and advanced our pathway to revenue growth and wider operational deployment».
Paul Morris, Vice President of RF & Comms Business Unit at EnSilica, said: «The C-LEO funding has been transformative for our development of chipsets for LEO user terminals, spanning analogue, digital and hybrid beamforming alongside a software-defined modem optimised for 5G NTN. This support has helped us win contracts with key customers who have validated our specifications, while also allowing us to grow our team and deepen our technical expertise. It’s a strong example of how targeted public funding can accelerate innovation and strengthen a commercial business case — and we’re grateful for the close collaboration with UK Space Agency throughout».
UK Space Agency CEO Dr Paul Bate said: «UK companies are developing world-class satellite communications technologies, from advanced antennas to optical links that can transmit data between satellites at the speed of light.
Our first C-LEO funding round is delivering real results, and this second call will help even more businesses take their innovations from prototype to product, ready to be integrated into the constellations of tomorrow». Photo by NASA nasa, Wikimedia commons.