The European Space Agency (ESA) and RBC Signals UK have signed a contract to develop the Spectrum Trade Orchestration and Resource Management (STORM) platform, an innovative solution designed to transform static spectrum allocations into a dynamic commercial marketplace.
Developed under the ESA Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems’ (ARTES) Competitiveness & Growth programme, STORM will leverage software-defined radios (SDR) to use spectrum resources more efficiently through a commercial marketplace. The platform aims to make satellite communications more accessible and cost-effective by optimising the management and allocation of radio frequency (RF) resource, benefitting a wide range of users from SMEs to international industry and governments.
The 18-month project will be led by RBC Signals UK, working alongside partners Texuna and Dione Consulting. This collaboration brings together expertise in software development, satellite communications, and regulatory compliance.
STORM will enable spectrum management, trading, efficiency and wider interoperability, between different operators and hardware parts (eg SDR, modulators, UT’s etc); giving organisations a platform to become more agile and responsive in market or business changes. STORM will progress through definition, technology, product, and demonstration phases, with commercial deployment targeted for mid-2026.
This project builds on ESA efforts, recently signing a joint statement with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to foster a more sustainable and responsible use of radio spectrum resources for satellite systems, as well as the Clean Spectrum Driving Innovation and Growth conference hosted at ESA HQ in Paris which brought together key stakeholders to drive economic innovation and growth through clean spectrum.
“ESA is proud to be supporting such a project that will help improve spectrum management and trading. STORM presents a step forward in supporting a more accessible, efficient, and competitive satellite communications sector” said Jerome Colinas, Telecommunications System Engineer within ESA’s Connectivity and Secure Communications directorate.
“We are excited about project STORM and the support we are receiving from ESA & the UK Space Agency. We believe there is a large amount of underutilised spectrum and that this program will provide a market clearing mechanism enabling innovative new solutions such as satellite IoT to come to market.” said Ron Faith, CEO at RBC Signals UK.
“STORM not only opens the space industry for Texuna following 2 years of collaboration with our partners, but more importantly STORM paves the way for many other innovators to get simplified commercial access to satellite spectrum on an ad hoc basis.” said Patrick Lynch, CEO at Texuna.
“STORM is the foundation stone for the global spectrum reuse enhancement. It redefines the spectrum efficiency, unblocking the market and allowing innovative ideas and services to grow,” said Vasileios Tsiafakis, Project Director of STORM.